Everyone Makes Mistakes Part 2: A Girl and Her Lion
by Scraps the Fool
Summary: Four Months after the "Pearl Incident", Connie is coping with the loss of Steven. However, when an evil force arrives to finish what it started, it is up to this young woman, her lion, and the surviving Crystal Gems to stop this threat and save the Universe.
1. The Interview

Original Idea by: Scraps

Collaboration work with: Cleverun

Characters Created by: Rebecca Sugar

Chapter 1: Interview with a False-Gem

[*]

**Dr. Singmud Fraud's office, present day**

"…and how has the experience changed your life Mrs.…Universe?" Dr. Fraud in said as he looked up from his clipboard.

"I…don't know sometimes." Connie said as she cupped her hands together, "To me it feels like hours when I know that it has been months since…."

"That day?" Dr. Fraud responded.

"Yeah…that damned day…"

Meet Connie Patel Universe, this is a girl who was known to enjoy reading books, playing tennis, and trying to fit in with everyone else. A few years ago, she encountered a young boy named Steven. As the two began to grow into adulthood, their relation began to grow as well. This eventually led to the night that changed everything forever. One little mistake led to Connie becoming pregnant to Steven's child. Despite what had happened, a far more sinister plan was in motion, a plan that led to the death of Steven and the transferring of his powers to Connie.

"Do not worry Carrie, seeing how you have been managing this; I think you will be just fine." Dr. Fraud then stood up and quickly escorted the young Gem out of the room, slamming the door behind her. As Connie looked at the clinic door, she made an irritated grunt as she began to walk to the large temple in the distance.

It has been four months since that fateful week. With Cecil's death, the management of Funland was given to Lars's dad to manage. Connie walked past the "It's a Wash" carwash, stopping to examine the abandoned structure. As she placed her hand on one of the cracked walls, she heard the sound of laughter and turned to the source of that sound. As she did, she saw a young boy with curly brown hair, spraying his father, a larger man who was balding and had a bit of a tan, with a hose. As the two of them laughed in joy, they looked to Connie and waved at her. Connie's eyes poured out with Tears as she saw the sight.

"_Perhaps this is all a dream and all I need to do is wake up. Then everything will be back to normal_" Connie thought to herself as she rubbed her eyes. But as she looked up, the boy and his father where gone.

Connie sighed as she continued to walk to the temple, not noticing the large growling creature that was following her. As she reached the beachside, Connie stopped and began to look around. As she slowly turned her head, she heard a large roar from behind her and quickly turned to defend herself, only to find her back on the sandy beach and a large pink animal licking her face. It was lion, the Gem animal that was known for doing weird things and for saving Connie's life. As Lion continued to lick her like a dog, Connie could help but laugh.

"Okay! Okay! Down boy!" Connie laughed as she pushed Lion off "I am happy to see you too."

Lion then sat up and groaned at his master before noticing Connie crouched before him. As Lion tilted his head in semi-concern, Connie then pounced at the Gem beast, trying to knock the creature down in a pointless effort. As she locked her hands around his mane, Lion stood up and began to walk up to the Temple. When they were at the doorstep, lion shook Connie loose from his mane, dropping Connie with a thud.

"Thanks a bunch Lion." Connie said sarcastically as Lion replied with a growl.

As Connie walked to the door, she looked up to the temple. It has been months and yet, she still is not used to the idea of living with the Crystal Gems, let alone living in the same place that...no, she knew the responsibilities outweighed the fears. Not to mention with the possibility of Diamond making a move, this was the only option to ensure proper protection.

"Today is the day lion" Connie said to the creature beside her, "Today, I become a Crystal Gem."

Lion looked at Connie with a bland expression a he turned and jumped up the temple. As Connie watched him climb to the top, Connie looked at her hand on the knob, took a deep breath, and opened the door.

[*]

**Gem Colony Venatio****, present day**

"GET MOVING GEMS! WE DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME!" A large six armed Gem with a turquoise stone over his eyes yelled as she looked up to the sky.

Since the Gem civil war, colonies like this were used to house and protect Crystal Gems that lost their planets to war or disasters. Venatio, a Gem Colony in the Thesia System, was known for not only being the largest of the Colonies in the Universe, but also for housing billions of Gems. However, this Colony's purpose was to be tested. The Leader of the Colony, a Gem known as Turquoise, with the help of her Gems Azurite, Malachite, and Sapphire, was already making preparation to evacuate as many Gems as possible while at the same time use the colony's defenses to repel the incoming invasion.

"Azurite, are you there?" Turquoise said as she armed a row of light-cannons, "How are the defenses on the east side?"

"This is Malachite, Azurite has the west side covered, Sapphire has the north, and I have the east side." Malachite responded in her sister stead "Do you think this will work, we don't even know who is attacking?"

"It will work, my sister." The six-armed Gem said as she heard a bellowing horn and saw the sky turn blood red, "it has to work."

Within moments, the sky filled up with large black clouds, as the clouds floated down to the colony, Turquois saw that they were not ordinary clouds, but groupings of Agate drones, it was at that moment Turquoise realized who was behind this invasion.

Turquois then turned to a large crystal panel and slammed her hand on it causing a large alarm to engage followed by the light cannons beside her to target and fire at the clouds. As the cannon's blast hit one of the clouds, it dispersed into thousands of Agates, which began to swarm the Colony. Turquois watched in horror as she saw Gem after Gem torn apart by the merciless robots, not noticing the figure that quickly stabbed her in the lower back with a Katar. Turquois let out a shout of agony as she summoned her long swords, only to stumble over from the stab to her spine. As she looked, up at her assailant, a white haired Gem with two Katars and a sinister grin on her face, she recognized her as Zirconia, one of Diamond's personal servants.

She tried to move away from the Gem before, but her legs were paralyzed, preventing her from escaping. As she tried to strike Zirconia, two Agates quickly appeared and grasped her arms, electrocuting her and forcing her to subdue. As the Agates lifted her in front of the white haired Gem, she traced her hand over Turquois's Gem and made a smile.

"This one will do, her Vitae is quite powerful." Zirconia then turned to the doorway behind them "Isn't it…Father?"

Turquoise watched in horror as a tall Gem entered the room. His hair silver like a blade, his eyes piercing and cold, and his very presence created a feeling of fear and inferiority. It was Master Diamond, once the leader of the Crystal Gems and now the Leader of Obsidian, the so-called "New Universal Order." As he looked at the Gem before him, he turned to Zirconia and struck her across the face. As she turned back to him, she made a small smile.

"I mean, Master." Zirconia replied as she wiped blood from her mouth.

Diamond then turned back to Turquoise and clasped his hand on her face, moving her head around to examine her features.

"I am impressed with how you have handled things so far Turquoise, you are still as calculated and intelligent as the day you joined the Guardians and your dedication to the defense of this colony and its inhabitants is admirable. However, that does not change the fact that I am still disappointed still by your treason to our order."

Turquoise shook Diamond's grip as she glared at the Gem Master before her, "I'm the traitor? What about you "Master" Diamond? What do you call all of this? What do you call the mass slaughter of the very Gems who stood by the ideal of protecting the Universe?"

Diamond then placed his arms behind his back as he walked over to the window. As he looked at the Gems fighting against his army of Agates, he replied to his captive.

"Restoration my Gem, I call it restoration"

Turquoise looked at the Master in confusion, as she did, Diamond turned back and once again stood before her, his hands still behind his back.

"In the millennia we have spent protecting the Universe, my siblings and I formed the Crystal Guardians. However, as time went on we developed our own ideals of how we should protect the Universe. Rose wanted to help everyone and everything, and Topaz wanted to protect the Universe only from Gem based threats. While their intentions were pure, they did not see the truth as I did. For you see, the true threat is not what is attacking the Universe but the Universe itself."

Turquoise looked at Diamond in confusion, "So that's your plan? You're going to destroy the Universe?"

"No Turquoise," Diamond replied, "I am going to save it."

Diamond then waved his hand and the Agates released Turquoise, dropping her to the floor. As the Gem tried to crawl to her weapon, a katar pinned her hand to the floor. As Turquois yelped in pain, she used her free hands to remove the katar. However, as soon as she tried to throw it at Diamond, the Agates quickly grabbed her again and held her to the wall. Diamond then turned and stood before her, shaking his head slightly as he focused his attention on Zirconia, who was deactivating the cannons.

"Why are you doing this to us?" Turquois asked weakly to Diamond, "Why destroy us?"

"Because you have become corrupt." Diamond replied, "To ensure that order is restored in the Universe, it must be maintained by those who will never tire, who will never go hungry, and those who will never say no. This is why you need to be replaced; you have the same fault that the rest of the species in this universe carry: You have free will."

Diamond turned to Turquoise and then waved his hand. As he did, an Agate drone flew into the room with a Gem in grasp. This Gem had blue skin and hair that was wrapped in a scarf hood. As the Agate released him, the Gem turned to see Turquois pinned to the wall with a look of horror and then she turned around to see Diamond and Zirconia. He then summoned a pair of chakrams and pounced at the Master, only to be suddenly struck into a wall by a large Diamond Mace. As Diamond dispersed his mace, he called the Agate who brought her and gestured to the Gem. The Agate then scanned the Gem and turned to its creator.

"[GEM IDENTIFIED….IDENTIFICATION: SAPPHIRE…..CLASSIFICATION: PERTURBATIO…..GEM TYPE: ASCITUS….WEAPON TYPE: CHACKRAMS….THREAT LEVEL: MODERATE]"

Diamond then raised his hand, lifting the Gem up from the ground and towards him. As he stared into the eyes, he raised his hand up to the Gem in a clenching motion.

"Diamond wait!" Turquoise shouted at the Master, halting his actions to focus his attention of the six-armed Gem, "Don't hurt him, it's me you want, you are here because you are after Master Topaz are you?"

Diamond turned to face Turquoise and lowered his hand, Sapphire now floating behind him as he spoke to the Gem before him.

"I am surprised you realized my intentions so quickly. Yes, I am here because you were the last Gem to converse with him before he disappeared. Now you will tell me my brother is hiding. If you do not comply, I will kill Sapphire and then rape you."

Turquoise hesitated before lowering her head in defeat; she then took a deep breath and then raised her head to lock eyes with Diamond.

"He is at the Mendax Colony." She replied softly, "Now release Sapphire and leave my colony…please."

"Of course, I will release Sapphire…" Diamond replied as he turned to the Gem before him, raising his hand again, slightly clenching it. "…from his physical bonds."

As Diamond unclenched his hand, Sapphire's limbs and head exploded, followed by his torso. Turquoise screamed in anger and agony as she watched Diamond lift up Sapphire's Gem from the ground. As soon as he did, an Agate drone carrying a small silver pod with a hole in it appeared. Diamond then planted the Sapphire into the pod's hole. As he did, the pod began to hover into the air and glow blue before beginning to take shape. Turquoise watched in horror as the Gem before her was transformed into a Agate before her very eyes. She also realized that the Agate was not just a simple war droid, but was a machine powered by the Vitae of a fallen Gem. As the new Agate hovered down in front of Diamond, its three lenses lit up and it spoke to its new master.

"[AGATE MODEL 1,243,656.49 ONLINE…SYSTEMS: ACTIVE…..WEAPONS: ONLINE…PRIMARY MISSION: LOCATE AND APPREHEND ROGUE GEMS…SECONDARY MISSION: ACQUIRE VITAE ….PRIMARY MISSION STATUS: GEMS LOCATED…ACTION: APPREHEND AND SUBJUGATE]"

"Welcome Agate, at this moment you will follow protocol 11-8 along with your primary mission. There are three other Gem leaders on this colony, apprehend them and follow secondary mission if they are deceased."

The Gem saluted as he hovered near Zirconia, who laughed in response to the Gemdroid before jumping out the window with her new Agate behind her.

"You now see Turquoise, that this is the new age of peace." Diamond said as he walked over to his captive once more. "Sapphire has now become something greater. A machine that will never tire, always obey, and show no remorse to his targets, that is how you restore order. Now then, its time I taught you the price for treason."

Turquoise replied to this by spitting in Diamond's face who responded by striking her in the face. As he finished, he scanned her with his eyes and then looked to the Agates restraining her before giving them a new command.

"Strip her."

[*]

**Crystal Training Room, present day**

Connie fell on her back again; this was the ninth time now. As it has been for weeks now, Connie was trying to unlock her full Gem potential. Although she could summon her weapon, she still needed to learn how to use it properly. Therefore, Garnet prepared a specialized training room for her to practice. As the Gem rose off the floor, she looked to her opponent, a hologem of a Agate drone, which quickly charged at her. Connie dodged the attack and slashed off one of its arms, causing the hologem to dissipate. As Connie sat on the floor, exhausted by the training, she noticed Garnet walking up next to her, with Amethyst behind.

"Your abilities are getting better Connie," Garnet said in her stoic tone to the new Gem "but it seems like you are still holding back."

Connie looked to the floor and sighed, "I just fell like battling a Agate would not be enough, I mean, can't I fight one of you guys?"

Amethyst smiled "Yeah Garnet, let's become Sugulite! She could give Connie a nice workout. Remember how exhausted Perrr…." Amethyst stopped mid-sentence, remembering about the whole fiasco four months ago, Amethyst looked at a ringing expression at Connie, who was still looking at the floor before she stood up to face her Gem sisters.

"Set up a new hologem." Connie said in a determined but serious tone "this time though, use Pearl's."

As Garnet and Amethyst looked at each other, they then looked back to Connie and Garnet waved her hand. As she did, a hologram of Pearl appeared before the three Gems. This hologem was used by Pearl as a training dummy, and at one point, an unsuccessful substitute for Pearl.

"[DO YOU WISH TO ENGAGE IN COMBAT?]" The hologem exclaimed in a dramatic fashion.

Connie nodded as she brought up her sword and shield. As she did, the hologem summoned a spear, and lunged at its opponent. Connie quickly dodged the attack as she brought the sword down onto the hologem, only for it to roll out of the way and throw its spear at Connie. As Connie blocked the attack, the hologem kicked the shield, hitting Connie in the face and dropping her to the floor. Connie rose up; her nose trickling blood a she brought up her blade one more.

"Is that all you got?" Connie shouted at the hologem "I had more of a challenge with the Agate hologem."

"[INITIATING ADVANCED ATTACK MODE]" the hologem replied as it lunged into the air, summoned two spears, and lunged again at Connie. This time, Connie blocked the attack and pushed forward, knocking the hologem back. The hologem flipped to recover as it shot one of its spears at Connie. As she blocked this, she felt a sharp slash in her back. When she turned to the source of the attack, she was attacked again. The pain of the attacks caused Connie to lose grip of her weapons and drop to the floor. As she looked up, she saw the hologem walking towards her, brandishing a bloody spear and a cold stare.

As the hologem stood above her and was about to thrust its spear, a large gauntlet blew the head off the hologem, causing it to stagger and then dissipate. Connie looked to Garnet, who had just saved her life and now was over the new gem. Her arms crossed over her chest and her face a stoic expression.

"Perhaps we should stick to the Agate for a while."

"Yeah…" Connie said, "By the way, can a Gem die from blood loss, because I am loseing a lot of blood right now."

Garnet sighed as she lifted the Gem into her arms. As she carried the Gem about of the room, Amethyst trailed next to them. Telling Connie about how badass she was facing the Holo-Pearl. As Connie listened, she felt that in the back of her mind that the reason she lost the fight was not because of the hologem's power.

[*]

**Gem Colony Venatio's Hangar Bay****, present day**

Time was not in the favor of the Crystal Gems. As the groups rushed to the hangars in hope that a ship was still operational, there was the issue with dealing with the aftermath. Luckily, there were reports of a colony on a planet called Terra that housed several Gems and one of the Tribunal. As of now, it was up to Azurite and Malachite to lead the surviving Gems off the colony. As they ran through the tunnels they could hear the fighting above them, the sound of Gems clashing with their mechanical replacements, the wounds of Gems screaming as they were ripped apart. Azurite suddenly placed her hands over her head and slumped down into a ball, the horror of what was happening was too much for the blue Gem. Malachite tilted her head to the other Gems to have them move on, as she would stay behind to help her Gem sister.

"Azurite, it's going to be okay. We are going to get out of this, you will see. However, we need to get to the ship. It's our only chance to escape." Malachite said as she looked into Azurite's eyes.

Azurite took a deep breath as she stood up, continuing to walk with her sister into the hanger. Inside the hanger was a large ship. Unlike other Gem ships, this ship was made of metal. It also had an insignia in the side that looked like an Ingot with wings and a shield in the center. Under the Ingot, were the words "OLYMPUS MONS." As Malachite and Azurite approached the ship, they heard a large groaning followed by a bigger explosion. They knew that if they did not launch now. There was no way to escape.

"Turquoise, this is Malachite; the _Olympus Mons_ is ready to launch. What is your status?"

There was nothing but silence on the other end. As Malachite looked at Azurite, she tried another.

"Sapphire, are you there, we need to leave now. Respond."

Nothing, it was perfectly clear that they were gone. Malachite clenched her hands before approaching the bridge of the ship. There on the bridge, Gems had already prepared to leave.

"Is the ship ready to launch?" Malachite asked another Gem, a gem in a blue duster with a face bandana by the name of Lapis.

"She is all set to go." Lapis stated before noticing outside the window "Oh shit!"

As Malachite looked out the window, she saw several Agate Drones flying into the Hanger. Malachite then stormed up to the controls and pressed several buttons. When she did, the panels came to life, as well as a computerized face.

"[Greetings, I am A.L.L.O.Y. I am the Super Computer to the Metalia Ranger ship _The Onlympus Mons_. How may I help you today?]"

"Engage hostile defense system." Malachite replied.

"[Command accepted, Beginning hostile defense.]"

Suddenly, the ship began to vibrate as several turrets emerged from the sides of the ship, firing at the Agates who were flying around the ship. As Malachite sighed in relief, she noticed a white haired Gem running from the Agates. Before she could do anything, she saw Azurite running out of the ship, obviously intending to save the Gem.

"AZURITE WAIT!" Malachite shouted as she chased her sister. However, she then saw the white haired Gem kneeling on the ground with Azurite over her, trying to comfort her. As Azurite saw a Agate charge at her, she created a blue bubble, blocking the attack and shielding her and the other Gem from harm. As Malachite approached the two Gems, she then noticed that the kneeling Gem was dripping black fluid from her face. As Malachite realized who she was, she tried to warn Azurite.

"AZURITE, GET AWAY FROM HER! SHE IS ONE OF DIAMOND'S-"

*shunk*

Malachite watched in horror as the white haired Gem stabbed a katar into Azurite's stomach. Breaking the bubble and causing Azurite to kneel in pain.

"Didn't Turquoise ever teach you not to trust strangers?" Zirconia said while bending down to the blue Gem.

As Azurite fell over, she dissipated into a single blue Gem. As soon as she did, one of the Agates hovered near her.

"[GEM INCAPACITATED…COMMENCING GEM AQUIRENCE.]"

The Agate then opened his hand, causing the Gem to lift up into the air and float towards the Gemdroid. Malachite, still upset by the attack, quickly rushed over, and grabbed Azurite's Gem. As the two tugged the Gem, a thought hatched into Malachite's brain. Such an action would be considered forbidden as unlike Gem fusion, the effects were permanent. Nevertheless, it would be better than the alternative.

"Forgive me Azurite." Malachite said softly as she pulled the Gem close to her chest. As she did, she whispered a single phrase.

"_Sed et nos unum sumus!_"

As soon as she did, both Azurite's Gem and Malachite began to glow in a bright light. Suddenly, there was a large pulse, knocking the Agate and Zirconia back and leaving a large cloud of smoke where Malachite once stood. As Zirconia peerd into the smoke cloud, she saw something standing there. She then realaized that the being was a Gem, but it was far different then what she had been facing before.

"[NEW GEM IDENTIFIED…IDENTIFICATION: ERROR….CLASSIFICATION: ERROR….GEM TYPE: ERROR….WEAPON TYPE: HAND TO HAND…THREAT LEVEL: ERROR...ACTIVATING EM-*

Before the Agate could respond, it was cut into ribbons by a blurred flash, Followed by a large cut into Zirconia's chest. As the Gem stumbled in shock, she looked back to the cloud, only to find in its place was a Gem. She could see that it looked like Azurite, but with Malachite's colors and a different wardrobe. She also saw that the Gem's hands had large sharp claws on them.

"Wha-What are you?" Zirconia asked in horror.

"You can call me Thorn, Bitch!" Thorn replied as she walked towards her opponent.

Zirconia called for move Agates, but as they attacked the Gem, they were too slow to deal with Thorn.

"So this is the might of Diamond?" Thorn said with a laugh as she cut down Agate after Agate, "I am quite disappointed that he is-"

"I am what?" a voice shot out, drawing the attention of the two Gems.

There was Diamond, standing before the two Gems with two items in hand. In one hand was his Mace, drenched with blood. While in the other was a head. As he threw the head towards Thorn, she saw that head was missing a large Gem over its eye. Thorn, being a fusion of tow Gems who worked with the head's original owner, knew exactly who's head this was.

"Turquoise?" Thorn replied as she saw the head roll towards her and stop.

Thorn then gritted her teeth as tears rolled down her face. She then screamed a bloody roar as she leaped at Diamond, who simply dodged her attack and wacked her in the back with his mace. As Thorn recovered, both of them head the sound of engine charging as they turned to see the _Olympus Mos_ begin to take off. Thorn then jumped into the air, leaping over Agates and then sinking her claws into the hull of the ship. Diamond watched as Thorn entered the ship door and watched the ship launch out of the Colony. He then noticed Zirconia limping towards him.

"I did not expect that they could do that." Zirconia said as she began to cover her wounds "Don't worry Master, we will go after them."

"No you will not." Diamond said as he looked at the ship flying away. "You will not because I know where they are going. In the meantime, I think it is time you returned to Terra. There is a Gem we need to capture."

Zirconia looked with anticipation "Does this mean I can kill them Master?"

Diamond placed his hands behind his back "As long as you do not kill the false Gem, I do not care what happens to the rest of them. You may do as you please."

Zirconia gave a large grin as she waved her hands. As she did, the destroyed Agates reassembled and flew out of the hangar doors. As Zirconia began walking out of the hanger, she was stopped by Diamond's voice, issuing her an additional command before he vanished.

"…and do not forget to bring Vestibulum with you."


	2. The Invasion

Original Idea by: Scraps

Collaboration work with: Cleverun

Characters Created by: Rebecca Sugar

Chapter 2: Invasion of the Gem Snatchers

[*]

**Patel Household, present day**

It was quiet at the Patel household; Connie was eating dinner with her family as she normally would. She always found a sense of peace when it came to her family that no matter what had happened they were there for her. After the whole crisis was over, Connie's dad, once a security guard named Omar, was now the chief of security for Mayor Dewy. As for Connie's mother Sarah, she found a job as an assistant manager at Fish Stew Pizza. Knowing that they could not move away due to Connie's new problems, they decided, much to their concern, to stay for Connie's sake.

"So Connie," Sarah said as she passed a bowl of mashed potatoes to her daughter. "How did your training go today?"

"You mean her death wish…" Omar muttered under his breath.

Sarah glared at her husband before exclaiming his name. Omar quickly rose his hands up in defense.

"May I remind you that this is our daughter we are talking about, Our PREGNANT daughter? Who thinks it alright to train a pregnant woman in combat, A bunch of psychopaths that's who!"

Sarah scoffed and pointed at Omar "They know what they're doing Omar, they would not be having Connie go through this without a good reason. Why are you so cynical about this?"

Omar slammed his hands on the table in anger "Have you forgotten what happened to that Steven boy and his father? Those same Gems butchered them into pieces. Not to mention tormented our daughter, or have you thought the therapy was just for fun?"

Connie, ignoring the yelling of her parents, got up from the table and walked into her bedroom. As she sat on the bed and sighed, she could still hear the sound of her parents arguing with each other. Connie then slumped onto her bed with her face to the ceiling. As she did, she looked down at her stomach, which was now slightly bulging. It was amazing how Connie was dealing with this; even before her transformation into a Gem, she had no symptoms of pregnancy. Not even morning sickness, it almost as if she was not pregnant at all.

"I'm sorry to put you through all of this." Connie said to her child, "I never intended to put you through this entire gunk. I just wish Steven were here, it would make things so much easier."

With that, she closed her door, slipped into her pajamas and climbed into her bed to fall asleep; hoping that tomorrow would be a better day.

[*]

**Beach City Exterior, present day**

The small town of Beach City was quiet, the majority of the small community was asleep, and the streets were lifeless. Little did the citizens know, that watching above on a rooftop were two figures in grey cloaks. As they both gazed upon the city, the figure on the right, a white haired woman, unhooded herself and knelt down to survey her location.

"You know I would think that our Gem sisters would choose a place that was more…lively." Zirconia said with a tone of disappointment as she watched a young boy leaving the arcade with a large bag of tokens. "Then again you didn't have much of a say in the matter didn't you?"

The hooded figure responded with a light nod. Zirconia then noticed the figures white hands clench. Zirconia rose up and faced the figure, patting her hand on the figure's shoulder in a comforting and sarcastic manner.

"Oh come on, think of this as somewhat of a reunion." Zirconia chuckled, "Besides, I will finally meet your other half, it should be quite the family reunion, won't it…Mother?"

As Zirconia walked away from the figure and jumped off the rooftop, the figure turned to the direction of the temple. She then unhooded herself and gazed upon the temple with a cold, black shot stare.

"Yes," Vestibulum said sternly as she felt obsidian tears roll down her face. "Yes it will."

[*]

**Mayor Dewy's Office, present day**

Mayor Dewy was sitting in his office as usual, on the phone with someone called "Lucy Lead Pipe." A picture of his family say beside him as he unbuckled his trousers and continued to listen to the tranny on the phone, showing that this man had no sense of respect nor morals. As he asked her questions about her "organic pipe," he heard a knock on the door.

"Hey uh, could you come back later" Dewy said as he covered the phone with his hand, "I am having an important meeting with a representative and I cannot be disturbed….for the next ten minutes."

"Sir, it is urgent," a woman's voice said from behind the door, "It's someone saying that they work for "Master."

Dewey's stomach sunk, without hesitation, he hung up the phone and buckled up his trousers.

"S-s-s-send her in." Dewey said nervously.

As the door opened and Zirconia walked in, two Agate drones followed behind her. As she sat in the chair across from Dewey, the Agates hovered next to him. Dewey was now sweating bullets, knowing that this might end in a way he did not want it to end.

"Hello Mr. Mayor," Zirconia said warmly, "I am glad to see that you were able to break away from your infidelity to make time for me."

"Of c-c-course Zirconia" Dewey said with a shudder, "Now, we built that vault for the Master already, right where he asked us to, and I have been keeping track on the Gem's actions and movements as I always have. Is there anythi-

"Shut up!" Zirconia barked to the Mayor "You know why I am here; the Master would like to thank you for your hospitality for the past few years, for allowing him to proceed with his plans without obstructions and for providing hospitality for our troops.

Dewey smiled as he wiped his head with his sleeve. However, as he looked up and saw the door open again; his smile vanished as he saw Zirconia now crouched on the desk before him, her hand moving to the base of his neck.

"But I am afraid that your uses to our cause have run their course, and Master does not like to leave behind any…loose ends."

Dewy began to panic, "Wait Zirconia, I still have money and power. I know many people who you could use as servants. Governors, Generals, anyone he wants. Please, I have been so loyal to him. I did everything he asked me t-"

*crack*

Zirconia watched as Dewey's head fell onto the desk, smashing his family picture.

"I know you did," Zirconia said mockingly, "But just like Master said, in a game of chess, you must sacrifice the pawns to win."

As she let go of Dewey's body, she pushed his lifeless corpse aside and sat down onto his desk. Relishing the thought of controlling this city, she looked to the Agate's beside her.

"Go and assemble the others," Zirconia said with a smile "rip this city apart until you find the girl. Then bring her to me, alive if possible."

The Agate's nodded as they hovered out the doorway. As they did, Zirconia tuned her chair around and gazed out into the sleeping city, knowing that in a few minutes, it would be time to walk it up.

[*]

**Patel Household, present day**

Connie woke up to the sound of banging, as she rose up from her bed, she quickly put on her coat and walked towards the door. As she was about to open the door, she heard her parents talking from the other side. They seemed to be talking to someone else.

"Look, just tell us why you need to speak with our daughter?" Omar said in a concerned tone, "I am a police officer and I work for Mayor Dewey, I am sure whatever my daughter did is a misunderstanding.

"[YOUR DAUGHTER HAS BEEN CHARGED WITH THEFT AND HIGH TREASON…THIS UNIT ADVISES YOU TO ALLOW THIS UNIT TO COMPLETE IT'S DIRECTIVE…FAILURE TO COMPLY WILL LEAD TO FORCEFUL ACTION BY THIS UNIT.]"

Connie recognized the voice of the "guest", it was the same voice as that strange robot she fought to the Tribunal Temple long ago. As she opened her door by a crack to look onward, she saw her father in the hallway, blocking the Agate drone from moving on.

"But you still haven't told me what she stole!" Omar said to the Agate, "Do you even have proof that she stole anything? Do you even have a warrant?"

The Agate's lens switched to a yellow color as it stared at the human blocking its path "[THIS IS YOUR FINAL WARNING ORGANIC…COMPLY WITH THE SEARCH OR THIS UNIT WILL USE FORCEFUL ACTION.]" then the Agate tilted its body, noticing the small eye peeking out from the door. Omar then turned as well, seeing his daughter watching from beyond. Choosing his actions carefully he mouthed the words "run" and football tackled the Agate. Connie was about to charge in when she heard her mother's scream, followed by two more Agates entering the hallway, one of which had the body of her mother pinned through the chest.

As Connie screamed, Omar rose up and pulled his baton from his belt, knowing that his preparation for any form of attack would finally pay off.

"Connie! Get to the Gems and get out of here! GO!" Omar shouted as he struck the Agates, allowing enough time to let his daughter escape.

Connie quickly shut the door and locked it; she then grabbed her dresser and pushed it in front of the door to block it. As soon as she unlocked the door, she heard her father's screams followed by a large wet thud. At that moment, Connie froze in horror, crouching down with the realization that her parents were now dead. As she felt tears roll down her face, she regained focus as she heard the sound of the Agate's trying to break down the door. Connie quickly jumped on her bed and opened her window. As she squirmed through and attempted to climb down the wall of her house, her hand slipped and she fell onto the ground below. As she lay on her back disoriented by the fall, she saw three Agates hovering above her. She tried to summon her weapon, but it was no use, she was too disorientated to concentrate.

"[CONTACTING MASTER ZIRCONIA…THE GEM THIEF HAS BEEN CAPTURED…THIS UNIT WILL TAKE THE GEM THIEF TO MASTER ZIRCONIA AND MASTER VESTIBULUM….THE OTHER UNITS WILL PROCEED TO SUBJUGATE THE ORGANICS AND LOCATE THE OTHER GEMS.]"

Connie tried to resist their grasp but was too disoriented to fight it. As the Agate lifted her up, Connie vison blurred before everything turned to black.

[*]

Connie woke to the sound of panicking voices. As she came to, she saw she was moving toward the City Hall. As she looked around, she saw in horror as hundreds of Agates were breaking into homes and rounding up the citizens. Buildings and homes were ablaze and destroyed. There were bodies all over the streets. Connie saw as a young boy known as Onion was sitting next to his father's corpse as an Agate came towards him.

[ORGANIC, PLEASE STAND UP AND RETURN TO THE GROUP…FAILURE TO COMPLY WILL LE-]

Onion suddenly pounced onto the Agate's head, Connie watched in horror as the Agate simply fired a red laser from its lens, blowing off Onion's head and causing his twitching body to fall next to his father. The Agate hovered away without remorse, dragging the bodies of Onion and his father behind them.

As Connie choked at the sight, her attention returned to the now present City Hall. As Connie was brought into the building, she could see Agates and crystal technology everywhere. As Connie glanced down a hallway, she saw people lined up at a table, under the watch of Agates, as they were forcing citizens to build strange looking pods.

Connie was then brought into the office of the late Mayor Dewey, whose office was now occupied by his immanent successor, Zirconia.

"Hello Connie, it's nice to finally meet you." The white haired Gem said to her captive as she walked up to her, "Do you like what I have done to the place? I think I have done a grand job, don't you?"

Connie gritted her teeth at Zirconia before spitting in her face; this resulted in a sharp slap in the face by Zirconia.

"I was told that you humans were lacking in the concept of manners." Zirconia said while wiping her face, "It doesn't matter though, once The Master deals with you it won't make a difference. However, if you tell me the location of Garnet and Amethyst, I might make sure your trial is painless."

"Why did you attack Beach City?" Connie asked as she tried to release herself from her Agate captor, "Why enslave all of them? WHY KILL MY FAMILY?"

Zirconia smiled as she bent down to whisper into Connie's ear.

"It's because I need to break you."

As Zirconia moved away from her captive, Connie looked in confusion at what Zirconia meant by breaking her.

"Vitae is the life force of a Crystal Gem, it's the source of a Gem's power and grants them immortality and divine powers." Zirconia said as she looked out the window. "However, The Master knows how to extract it and use it for his own well-being. To extract the most at a time however, the subject must be in the highest state of agony and pain. This is because the process of producing Vitae is much like the production of endorphins, once the subject is at a certain level of pain, and suffering, they will be ripe for consumption."

Zirconia then turned to Connie and gave a large grin "Which is why I am giving the job to an old friend of yours." Zirconia then gestured to the door behind them as the Agate made Connie turn to see the figure behind them. "She has been waiting to catch up with you, just like old times."

"No…" Connie whispered as she saw the sight before her.

There standing in the doorway, was a tall gem with a long nose and pale skin. One of her eyes was milky white and scarred while the other was black shot and trickling obsidian fluid. She was wearing a grey and black variant of her original dress but with a back diamond in place of the yellow star. To Obsidian, she was known as Vestibulum, but to the Crystal Gems and Connie she was known as…

"Pearl?"

Pearl looked down at her captive and smiled warmly at her old friend.

"Hello Connie, it's been a while hasn't it? My my, you have grown since the last time we meet."

Connie glared at Pearl while trying to break free of the Agates. She then noticed one of the Agates behind Pearl looked far different from the rest. It was purple and grey and its lens was white with a black dot in the middle. Her attention was brought back to Pearl as the Gem grabbed her face and examined it. Pearl then traced her hand down to Connie's stomach.

"I can sense her Connie." Pearl said with a smile, "I am surprised you haven't been affected by the ailments basic organics endure during such a cycle. It seems as if you were not pregnant at all. Perhaps your body is adjusting to the Gem magic. Just like Steven."

Connie then watched as the purple Agate slowly moved behind Pearl. Pearl then noticed Connie's expression and turned to see the Agate, who then stuck out its tongue before decking Pearl in the face.

"This unit is now authorized to kick your backstabbing ass, bitch!" The agate yelled as it transformed into Amethyst, "GARNET, NOW!"

Just then, there was the sound of a car horn, followed by a loud and violent crash as a large van drove right through the office. It looked like the van that Greg used to own, only that it had a small light cannon attached to the roof. As it stopped inside the building, the back door opened and Garnet jumped out, smashing two Agates onto the floor before facing Pearl and Zirconia.

"Oh look, its mommy." Zirconia said in a mocking tone "Looks like the family is all back together.

"What are you talking about?" Garnet said to the white haired Gem before facing her former Gem sister, "Who is she?"

Pearl responded by pouncing at Garnet, only to be shot back by the light cannon. As Zirconia looked to Garnet and then to Amethyst moving Connie onto the van, she ran out of the hole and began to wave her hands to the city.

"The Gems are here!" Zirconia shouted to the Agates within the city, "Get them!"

The Gems watched in horror as a large cloud of Agates began to swarm towards them like locust. Without another word, the Gem entered the Van and garnet floored it, sending the van through the city hall and out into the streets. Amethyst and Connie looked outside and saw the swarm grow closer and closer. The light cannon was very effective with repelling a few Agates, but it was not enough for an entire swarm.

"Garnet" Amethyst said in a worried tone, "Not that there is any pressure and you can answer at any time but, DO YOU HAVE A BACK UP PLAN?"

Garnet looked back to her Gems before pulling on a rope attached to the ceiling of the van. As she did, the light cannon fell off the van and fell to the ground.

Amethyst looked at the cannon, then the swarm, and then Garnet. "Okay, how about a plan that's not crazy or stupid?"

As Garnet smiled, she touched her palm Gem with her thumb. As she did, the cannon began to glow brightly, pulling in the Agates like a magnet to metal shavings. Suddenly, there was a blinding light and a deafening roar. The ground shook and the van nearly turned over. As Amethyst and Connie looked back, they saw the large funnel cloud of smoke rise up into the air. As the Gems cheered at their victory, Connie gasped as she saw the ruins of Beach city in the distance; she could see the smoke rising from the buildings, thinking about the people that she considered friends and how would they survive. As she watched as the city vanished into the distance. She turned to Amethyst, who gave her a look of both relief and sympathy. Connie tried to speak, but only found herself breaking down into hard sobs. The purple Gem wrapped her hands around her as she looked to the descending road, the smoke filling up the grey skies above, an omen for the terrible force that would come.

[*]

**Unknown Water Planet, present day**

The water was peaceful and tranquil, silent and calm Not a single drop of land was in sight. As the water sat calm and undisturbed, there was a large wake as a swarm of Agates flew across the sky, scanning the ocean below.

"[THIS UNIT WILL CONTINUE TO SEARCH SECTION 11.32. OTHER UNITS WILL SEARCH 332.3, 77, 12, 34.5, AND 7654.3338.]"

Just as the agates began to split up, the water below them suddenly rose up into a huge column. Swallowing the Agates and dragging them to the watery depths below. In the distance, a blue gem by the name of Lapis Lazuli was hiding beneath the water as she watched the spectacle occur. She sighed with relief as she saw the Agates vanish beneath, unaware that she was being watched as well.

Suddenly, she felt a powerful current force her above the water and into the air. As she spun around in the sky, she then saw four Agates surround her. In between them, were a Gem with Grey skin, black, half-shaved hair, and a black suit with a grey triangle in the center, she smiled as she made eye contact with Lapis.

"Who are you?" the water Gem exclaimed as she tried to break free of the Agates, "Are you another Gem sent to capture me?"

The Gem raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Why yes, my name is Onyx, and I am here for you. Master wanted me to specifically you." She said with a small laugh, "Seeing how you single handedly wiped out his forces, I am not surprised."

"Master?" Lapis said in confusion, "What is happening, where is Master Topaz?"

Onyx sniggered as she floated back to her Agates, "She knows nothing doesn't she?" she said to one of them, "Why is she so important again?

"[IDENTIFICATION: LAPIS LAZULI … CLASSIFICATION: PERTURBATIO…..GEM TYPE: TRIBUNALIS….WEAPON TYPE: LIQUID MANIPULATION….THREAT LEVEL: SEVERE…ADDITIONAL INPUT: THIS GEM WAS KNOWN AS THE SECOND IN COMMAND TO MASTER TOPAZ DURING ZIS REBELLION...ERROR:GEM TYPE IS IMPOSSIBLE]"

"I see…" Onyx smiled as she lifted her hands and summoned a onyx sword. She then turned to Lapis and pointed it at her. "Master will definitely be expecting you then, let's not keep him waiting"

Before Lapis could respond, she felt a beam of black energy pierce her chest, causing her to transform into a blue Gemstone. Onyx then floated towards it and clutched it in her hands, as a smile grew on her face; she then felt burning tears streaming down her face. Instantly knowing what that meant, she turned to see Master Diamond standing before her.

"_Præceptor_" the Gem responded as she knelt before him, the Gem of Lapis held out towards him "I have the Gem known as Lapis Lazuli, she will no longer be a threat to your plan."

Diamond took the Gem and examined it; reminded of the trouble she had once caused him millennia ago with the destruction of his Gem Colony known as Atlantis.

"It seems you had found a way to escape my prison." Diamond said to the Gem, "I can see why Topaz took a liking to you and I can also see why you were...Nevertheless, you will find that I will not be so kind, especially to traitors."

Diamond then clenched the Gem and watched the Vitae drain from it into himself, causing the crystal to become opaque. He then placed the Gem into his pocket and lifted his hand into the air, causing the group of Agates, which were submerged into the water below, to shoot up into the sky.

"You have done well with following my tasks Onychinos, you have truly proven your loyalty and efficiency to me."

"Thank you Master." Onyx said as she stood up before the Gemian God before her. "I also believe that my daughter and granddaughter have been failing you?"

Diamond turned to face the sky above him, "There failures have become a problem, not only have they allowed the Vitae of my sister Rose to reincarnate thrice over, but now the little thief has escaped and is now searching for my sibling Topaz."

"That means you will want me to stop them?" Onyx replied as she moved next to Diamond.

As Diamond was about to speak, he paused and placed his hand on his chin. "No, not yet." Diamond said as he looked down to the water below him. "Not until they find Topaz, then you will inform me and then stop them. But before you do, I have one task for you to do first."

"Of course Master." Onyx said with a smile, "What is my task."

Diamond turned to his servant and looked down to her before answering her question with one of his own.

"Do you remember the technique "_Mortalia Larva_?"


	3. The Ghost

Original Idea by: Scraps

Collaboration work with: Cleverun

Characters Created by: Rebecca Sugar

Chapter 3: A God and a Ghost

[*]

**Open Road, 3 days later**

Silence, that is what filled the air as the Gem drove on the road. No one spoke or made a single sound other than the occasional sneeze or cough. It had been three days since the attack on beach city, three days since the Gems left the temple and their friends behind to escape Obsidian. Garnet kept her eyes on the road as she drove, making sure that there was not anyone or anything of suspicion following them. The road stretched for miles, passing through forests and fields and small towns. The occasional car would pass by, but it was nothing serious at this time. Garnet looked in the rear mirror at Connie and Amethyst, who were sound asleep. As she looked back to the road, a though continued to linger in her head.

"_Why did that Gem call me mommy?_" she thought to herself, thinking of all of the possibilities. She knew that as a price for being Gems, they could not reproduce like normal creatures, with the only exception being the Gemians themsel-

As soon as that though shot into her head, Garnet felt her hands shake and clench the wheel. She remembered about Pearl's father and what he was known for. However, it made no sense, she never showed any signs of intrusion, let alone conception, unless…

Garnet heard a ping come from the car as she looked down at the fuel needle. She saw it was reaching empty and knew that the van needed to be refueled immediately. Luckily, she saw the sigh for a Gas station a couple miles back, turned into the exit, and arrived at the station.

[*]

**Paul's Gas & Grub, present day**

The Gems sat at the table of the indoor restaurant as their van was fueling up. As before, silence floated between the Gems. The sound of plates clattering and voices talking and laughing surrounded them. Connie looked down at her plate and then back up at the Gems across from her. She saw Amethyst with her head buried between her hands while Garnet had her eyes on the floor.

"Is…is Beach City going to be okay without us?" Connie asked carefully

There was no response, only Amethyst looking up to Connie and shaking her head.

"What happened back there?" Connie asked again, "Is Beach City goin-"

"No it isn't Connie!" Amethyst snapped at the half-gem, slamming her hands on the table. As she did, the restaurant went silent for a moment, staring at the commotion before continuing with their own lives. "Beach City is gone now Connie, and there is no coming back. Do you understand? We can never go back. Diamond has the temple; he has access to our technology, not to mention all those Gems we captured, and now…" Connie watched as tears rolled down the purple Gem's face as she laid her head on the table. "I…I don't know what to do…"

Garnet looked to her Gem sister and placed her hand on Amethyst's shoulder. She then looked to Connie and took off her glasses.

"What are we gon-"

"Just drop it Connie." Garnet said softly as she examined her glasses, "Beach City is gone now, Diamond won and we lost. We have to leave Beach City behind. It is probably not there anymore."

Connie hesitated before continuing. "Listen, I know I am not that good at this Gem stuff, hell, I am not even a real Gem, but we need a plan for were we are going."

A long pause followed, Garnet was about to open her mouth to respond, only to have Amethyst beat her to it.

"Were else is there to go?" Amethyst said with a small scoff, "Diamond has a whole fucking army of Agates and our so-called "Gem sister," not to mention, a batshit insane agenda. Do you really think he is going to stop at Beach City? He will not stop until civilization, as we know it has been destroyed, and even then, he will not stop until the entire Universe is a lifeless husk of his design!" Amethyst was about the slam on the table, but instead slumped back into her seat and began to sob.

"I…I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do." She repeats a third time, holding her head in her hands.

The three Gem's mood seemed to weigh down the restaurant. No one seemed Hungary anymore and apparently doubted whether they were to begin with. Connie looked around at the customers and staff, then back at Amethyst before speaking up.

"In case you had forgotten, my boyfriend was killed by Pearl." Connie said in a gritted tone to the Gem before her, "If you think I am going to just accept that, then you are sadly mistaken."

Connie then sat up and began to walk to the door. Garnet then stood up and faced the half-Gem. "Where are you going?"

Connie stopped as she reached the door before turning to Garnet. "I…I am going to do something. For Steven, it's what he would do."

As Amethyst stood up and walked between the two Gems, she sighed. "Okay Connie, what do you want to do? What is your masterful plan to face a Gemian god of power?"

Connie looked down for a moment, and then, an idea flashed in her head.

"We have to find Topaz."

The two Gems looked at Connie with a look of surprise, Amethyst scoffed as she crossed her arms in disbelief.

"And how should we do that? Do you happen to have a God detector in your back pocket?"

Just then, there was a flash outside and the sound of screaming as the Gems ran outside to see what the ruckus was. There, next to the van, was an exhausted Lion, laying on his side after apparently hauling a large Gemian artifact known as the Wailing Stone. Connie walked up next to Lion and patted him on the head in approval, Lion growled before slumping down in exhaustion.

"Could this be used to find Topaz?" Connie asked as she examined the stone.

Garnet looked at the stone and stroked her chin, "It was designed as a way to send messages. In fact, Topaz used it zirself during the war."

"So is that a yes?" Amethyst asked with a rekindled spirit.

"There is only one way to find out." Garnet said as she placed her hand on the stone and pressed it. This time however, instead of making an ear-piercing screech, a low hum could be heard; this was followed by a rhythm of low tones.

"Well that's new." Amethyst said as she smacked the stone. However, Garnet quickly stopped Amethyst and looked up at the sky.

"What is it?" said Connie, "Is it Topaz?"

"No it is not" Garnet responded as she eyes widened in surprise, "It's a ship."

[*]

**Crystal Temple Catacombs, present day**

Zirconia watched in both amusement and horror as Diamond slammed his body into Lapis's. The water Gem tried to squirm out of Diamond's clutches, but was too weak to break free, she felt the pain of Diamond pumping in and out of her, all she could do was gasp and scream as she felt a new pang of agony flow though her with each thrust. She felt as Diamond's hands clawed into her blue skin. As this act occurred, Zirconia noticed Pearl entering the room, freezing at the sight of Diamond and his new victim.

"Nice to see this happen to someone other than you huh Pearl?" the white haired Gem said to her mother. "Although, I suppose we are next."

Pearl was frozen solid, fixated at the sight before her. What bothered her was not the fact that a Gem was being raped before her, but it was who the Gem was. She remember Lapis Lazuli, the Gem in the mirror, the Gem who tried to use the Earth's water to go home, now here, screaming, and gasping for mercy. As she stood there, Diamond turned to his servant and glared at her. Pearl quickly moved over to Zirconia and continued to watch the act occur.

"What is his reason behind this?" Pearl asked her daughter, "Why is she here?"

Zirconia sighed before leaning herself on the wall, "You knew Topaz, right?"

Pearl nodded.

"That is zir daughter. Apparently we aren't the first Gemian spawn to be created."

Pearl looked back a Lapis with a look of shock. It made sense though, how else would a Gem have such power over an element. Only Gemians had that capability.

"And now, Master is turning her into a _Filia Obsianas_, just like you me and Onyx."

At that moment, a large agonized scream was heard as Diamond released within his prey. Then, as she screamed, Diamond grabbed her hair and moved her head to get a clear view of her neck. Pearl and Zirconia watched as Diamond's jaw split open down the middle, opening up and revealing a set of tentacles, barbed sets of fangs and a large barbed tube-like tongue. They watched as Diamond's tongue and fangs sunk into Lapis's neck. Lapis tried to push Diamond off, but her weakened body was of no use. As her cries began to soften and eventually silence. Diamond pulled out of her and then removed his jaws from her neck. As he stood up over Lapis, he placed his hand over her face and gave one command.

"_Excita_!"

The moment he did, Lapis slowly stood up, as she did, she opened her eyes, causing tears of liquid Obsidian to pour down her cheeks and onto the floor. She then looked to her master with blackshot eyes.

"Who am I?" Diamond asked his new servant.

"You are DI, The Old King, Gemian God of Power, Order, and Justice."

Diamond raised an eyebrow in response "Correct, but WHO am I?"

"You are my Master, the one I will serve until death either by my enemy's hand or yours."

Diamond then placed his hand over her chest.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"I am a tool to be used by you Master." Lapis said in a toneless voice.

"Correct" Diamond relied as he moved his hand away from the blue Gem. "You will do as I command, if you resist or fail my commands, I will not hesitate to punish you. Is that clear?"

Lapis nodded as she began to grab her attire that was scattered across the room. Diamond watched this for a moment before turning to Pearl and Zirconia, who froze with fear as he approached them. However, before he began to speak or act, the two Gems saw his expression change from anger to surprise before he left the room.

"What was that about?" Zirconia asked Pearl. Wondering what would cause their master to run off like that.

[*]

**Steven's House, present day**

Diamond moved around the house, which was ransacked from the invasion of the Agates. As Diamond examined the home, he had his hand pointed outward, as if he was sensing something. He then stopped just before the Gem door. As he tilted his head slightly, he turned his hand and touched his fingers and thumb together before pulling his hand back. As he did, the doorway opened up and shined a bright pink light before the Gemian.

"So this is where you kept it." Diamond said to himself before entering the light.

Diamond looked around at the pink clouds and swirls of light and energy. In sudden curiosity, he reached into his robe and pulled out a dead flower.

"_Vive_" he whispered to the flower. However, nothing happened.

He scowled at the flower before clenching his fist. As he traveled further, He then saw something in the distance floating towards him. It was small, pink, and look oddly like a whale. As the tiny floating whale buzzed around him, Diamond expression changed to a look of interest as it stopped before him.

"Hello Rose." Diamond said with a tone of annoyance, "I can see that even death cannot restrain your spirit."

The whale blinked for a moment before creating a flashing light. There in place of the whale, was a woman with long curly pink hair, white robes with a star shaped cut in the center, revealing a rose-colored gem, and a face that seemed very familiar to a certain Gem child.

"Hello Diamond." Rose said as she looked up at the Gem towering above her. "Why are you here? Have you come to tell me that you won?"

Diamond's eyes glowed red as she moved closer to her. "No, I came here to tell you how disappointed I am with you and your selfish desires."

Rose raised an eyebrow as Diamond looked down to her. "I am selfish? Me? How was I selfish?"

Diamond turned away from his sister, his hands placed behind his back. "Where do I begin: First, there was the fact that you and Topaz sided against me, giving in to your corruption rather than fight for salvation." Diamond turned to Rose as he gave a look of anger.

"Then, after you fled to Earth, you created a relationship with that Metal Ranger and created a abomination."

"It's "Metalia" Rose corrected Diamond, causing him to twitch. He then moved up to Rose and bent down to her.

"Then let us not forget that you turned my servant agents me and hindered my plans, all for what, to let your spawn live an additional fifteen years?"

"He will be sixteen soon." Rose said with a smile

Diamond gritted his teeth, as he turned around once again "It makes no difference though, although it was clever for you to give that human your powers, it was a wasted effort. I will acquire both your Vitae and Topaz's, and once I do, I can create the order that this Universe deserves. Once I do, no voice will speak without my command, and no…no flower will wilt nor bloom unless I allow it."

Rose tilted her head in curiosity. She then floated over to Diamond and lifted his hand. As she opened his fist, she saw the dead flower in his palm. She then looked up to her brother, who looked at her with emotionless eyes.

"Diamond, you cannot control everything by force. Free will is not a curse or a burden; it is a gift for all life. It is not our decision on whether or not this Universe is corrupt. It is our job to guide it and nurture it." As she touched the flower, Diamond watched as it bloomed with life, turning from a wilted brown to a beautiful pink.

Diamond looked into Rose's eyes, as he did, he felt his chest become heavy, and his mind fade. Rose saw as Diamonds eyes changed from grey and red into white and grey, and smiled at him. Diamond then turned away from his sister and clenched the center of his robe.

"NO! I will not be swayed by your trickery! I destroyed my emotions for a reason Rose!" Diamond exclaimed as she sister floated next to him.

"Not all of them" she said sadly "You told me that if one removes all their emotions, they would become apathetic. You kept the emotions you deemed to be the most effective in your plans."

Diamond looked to his sister with an expression of malice. "That is correct Rose, but there was one emotion that I could never remove from my being. It is the reason why I despise you."

Diamond removed his hand from his chest as he regained his composure. He then turned to his sister; his eyes reverted to back and red.

"Love?" Rose asked

Diamond looked to the ground before looking back to his sister. She could see the hate and rage building up within the God before her.

"I love you, I still do. That is why I hate you. I fell in love with you because of your inability to be controlled. Since we were formed, you rebelled against me and objected me constantly. I could not control you as I could Topaz. You saw me as a brother and not a Master. Even in death, you proved you could not be controlled. However, once I acquire your Vitae from that thief, then I will prove you wrong, and then, I can stop loving you."

Rose looked at her brother as he walked to the door of the room, as he opened it; he heard his sister's voice halt him.

"You never destroyed your emotions Diamond." Rose said to her brother, "After all, how were you able to create this room?"

Diamond responded with silence as he left the room, sealing the door behind him. As he found himself back in the temple, he opened his hand and looked at his flower as it reverted to its wilted state. As Diamond placed it back into his robe, he felt something trail down from his eyes. He wiped it with his hand and looked at it. It looked like a droplet of water that came from his eye.

_He was crying._

At this realization, Diamond twitched in anger before smashing his fist into the wall beside him. He then moved away from then door and walked out onto the balcony of the house, which looked over the ocean before him.

"What I do, I do to save the Universe, I have no choice in the matter. What I do is for the greater good." With that, he reached into his robe, pulled out the flower, and dropped it into the ocean below him, watching it float away before teleporting back to the temple to continue his plan.

[*]


	4. The Hunt: Part 1

Original Idea by: Scraps

Collaboration work with: Cleverun

Characters Created by: Rebecca Sugar

Chapter 4: Topaz the Hunted: Part 1

[*]

**United States Pentagon, present day**

In the hallways of the pentagon, a man walked down with an aura of importance. He wore a black suit and a red tie and had black hair and yellow glasses. As he approached a door at the end of the hallway, he could hear commotion from the inside. As soon as he opened the door, he saw thousands of people running around, answering calls, moving around paperwork, and pointing people around the cramped room. In the center of the room was a tall man with grey hair who was wearing a military suit with the word "Manson" over his left breast pocket. By what other people were calling him, he was apparently a General of some sort.

"I want a full surveillance over ground zero; make sure no one goes in or out." He barked at one of the people around him.

"Yes General" one of the lackeys replied, "I also need to tell you that those surveillance drones you sent were destroyed upon arrival."

"DAMN IT!" the general shouted as he slammed his hand into the desk, "Can anyone tell me what the hell is going on over there?"

"Perhaps I can," replied the black haired man as he approached the General, "We should find a much more private place to discuss it though first.

[*]

**General Manson's Office, present day**

As the man and the General stepped into the office, the General walked over to a selection of scotch on the side of the room. As he poured himself a glass and sat down, he took a large swig before speaking.

"Okay buddy, why don't you tell me what is going on?"

The man smiled before clearing his thought and placing a suitcase on the table. He then opened the suitcase up and pulled out various paper and pictures. Some of them portrayed important people in culture and politics as Gems. As the General looked at the pictures, he looked back up to the man with a look of shock.

"Now that I have your attention, allow me to introduce myself. My name is David Facilier, and I am an agent of the Gemian Extermination and Regulation Movement, otherwise known as GERM. It is our job to deal with the activities of these "Crystal Gems" and to deal with them if things go too far."

The General rubbed his hand with his face before taking another swig of scotch. "Why wasn't I informed about you? I am the goddam six-stared General for god's sake. I should have been informed by the President, not some crazy MIB G-man bullshit."

David smiled before looking down at the papers. "I don't care if you were six, seven, or one hundred-stared, as the President is concerned, my people have the higher authority right now. So you can walk out that door and continue playing blinds man's bluff, or you can sit here like a good solder and hear what I have to say."

As the General slumped in his chair, he examined the images before him. He saw a group of women helping a man out of the water while another was punching a shark. He then looked at paintings of various wars and crisis in the past.

"Okay then "Sir," can you tell me what do these pictures have to do with our attack?"

David nodded before pulling out another set of pictures. They were identical to the other copies, but the people inside them were different, they were multiples of color and each one had a Gem on their body and a strange looking weapon.

"What the hell is this?" the General asked before lifting the image of a certain Diamond Gem on top of a balcony.

"It's the truth, General." David replied, "This attack is one of many that have been going on for eons. We believe that these Gems are in an on-going civil war and it had eventually came to earth. We know that the Gem in the image you are holding is one of the leaders and goes by the name of Diamond. The other two, known as Rose and Topaz, have been helping us combat against his attacks. Throughout our world's history, these Gems fought and destroyed each other, while it was our job to surpass the information and reimage it into something else."

David then stood up and walked over to the scotch stand, where he poured himself a glass and sat before sitting back down.

"All the assassinations, all the genocides, all the wars, all the killings and shooting, all of them, all the result a single war that we cannot even begin to fathom." David took a swig of his scotch before placing it on the table. "But here is the kicker; those Gems have an influence in our culture as well. For example, the Gem Diamond inspired Dracula and the legend of the Vampires. Or the fact that the stories of mythology were actually formed by Gem that were perceived as Go-"

"Stop, just stop right there," The General said with his hand raised before standing up and looking at a picture of General MacArthur on the wall beside him. "Now listen here, you may have convinced the President with this bullshit, but you're not convincing me. How do you know that this is all true?"

David smiled before lifting his glass to drink from it. He then reached into his suitcase and planted a manila folder on the table with the words "TO ENTRUSTED EYES ONLY" stamped on the side in black ink. As the General opened it, he saw three profiles inside:

**[GEMIAN EXTERMINATION AND REGULATION MOVEMENT DOCUMENT] Document #3248443781**

**[Warning: This is a record of the profiles of the leaders of the Crystal Gems known as "The Crystal Tribunal" or "Gemians." Please insure that this document is kept with GERM personnel at all times. If GERM personnel are not present or this document is not within a secure perimeter, this document must be destroyed. Failure to comply with commands or failure to secure document(s) or action to reveal said document(s) to civilians or not authorized persons will result in a breach in section 856-23 or the Global GERM act, which can lead to a maximum sentence of 130 years in prison for each offense.]**

**PROFILES:**

**Name: Diamond**

**Age: Estimated 13+ billion**

**Gender: Male**

**Height: 8 feet, 3 inches**

**Status: active**

**Threat level: Critical**

**Additional notes: Three women accompany Diamond; they are identified as Onyx, Pearl, and Zirconia.**

**Name: Topaz**

**Age: Estimated 13+ billion**

**Gender: Unknown**

**Height: 5 feet, 3 inches**

**Status: Unknown**

**Threat Level: Unknown**

**Additional notes: Although he has combated against Diamond, caution should still be used as this motives are still unknown**

**Name: Rose Quartz**

**Age: Estimated 13+ billion**

**Gender: Female**

**Height: 5 feet**

**Status: Deceased**

**Threat Level: None**

**Additional notes: We have reason to believe that Rose had created an offspring that resulted in her death. SO far, the whereabouts of the offspring and the father are unknown. UPDATE: Both the offspring and the father are listed as deceased. UPDATE: Sighting of a girl with brown skin, brown hair, and glasses reported using similar Gem type. It is believed that his girl has a connection to Rose and/or the offspring. Further investigation is required.**

"Why are you showing me this?" the General asked as he placed the document on the table before him.

David sighed before taking a photo of Connie and the Gems in front of a Gas station alongside Lion out of his suitcase and handing it to the General. "We have just received an update that the aforementioned Jane Doe was seen escaping Beach city in a van accompanied by two women who we assume are Gems. They were last seen at a Paul's Gas & Grub where they encountered a pink lion before heading off. Witnesses clam they mentioned something about Topaz and zis location. They also mentioned that they were going to rendezvous with other Gems in an undisclosed location."

Just then, a solder opened the door and stormed right before the General, he immediately saluted as soon as he composed himself.

"Sir, apologies for the intrusion sir, but I need your attention sir."

"At ease son," The General saluted back to his solder, "Now tell me what is the problem."

"Sir, we have just identified a large bogy entering the atmosphere. Our satellites cannot identify it sir, and there are no markings belonging to any armed forces in our books."

The General and David looked at each other before standing up and rushing back into the main room. As they did, they looked on the overhead screen, which portrayed an image of the atmosphere via satellite. The two men watched as a large ship dove into the atmosphere, diving like a burning missile towards the planet.

"Do we know the estimated time of collection and possible location?" the General asked his lakes.

"Yes sir," one of them replied, "It bogy is estimated to crash in about 200 hours. It will also crash in an open field in California, about 3.2500 clicks east of Jane Doe's last location."

The General stroked his chin before turning to the Agent beside him. "I hope the president was right to trust you."

David smiled as a solder handed him his suitcase. He then turned away and out the door. The General turned back to the screen and sighed, "Because god help us, we could use some of that right now."

[*]

**Open Field, present day**

On this grassy noel, a couple was enjoying a picnic with their children. The Parents watched as their children played tag in the cool air and warm sun. Suddenly, there was a small rumbling sound, similar to that of a volcano.

"Do you hear something?" the man said to his wife.

As she shrugged, they noticed their children had stopped playing and were staring up above the parents. When they looked behind them, they say to their horror, a large ship heading straight towards them. Without hesitation, the entire family began running away from the incoming mass of metal.

"This is the reason why I wanted to stay with my mother this weekend." The wife said to her husband as they got in their car, just in time to watch the ear-shattering explosion as the ship crashed into the field. Without hesitation, the family pulled their car out of the park and drove off, passing by a large van with a pink lion sitting on top.

The van stopped right in front of the wreckage, opening up to allow Connie, Garnet, and Amethyst to step outside to examine the wreckage.

"Say isn't that one of those Metalia Ranger dude's ships," Amethyst asked as she kicked the hull lightly. "I though Diamond wiped them out."

"Perhaps this ship is still being used by others." Connie questioned as she and the others approached the door.

As soon as Garnet was about to open the door, she was tackled by a large green-blue gem with sharp nails.

"Game over bitch!" Thorn yelled at her prey, "You won't get me th-" Thorn stopped and examined her opponent, realizing it was not who she expected. "Wait a minute, you're not Agates!"

Amethyst quickly transformed into Puma mode, grabbed Thorn, and slammed her into the hull of the ship. "Okay, what the hell are you doing here? What did DI send you here to do?"

As Connie watched the spectacle occur, she noticed other Gems beginning to emerge from the ship. A large obese Gem and an orange colored Gem then approached her.

"Are you the Crystal Gems of Colony Terrae?" the fat Gem asked Connie.

"Um…yes?" Connie replied hesitantly.

"Oh! It's good to see you then!" said the fat Gem as she engulfed her new Gem friend in a bear hug. Connie gasped for air as she was sucked into the Gem's fat folds.

"Smoky, that's enough! You're going to kill her." Shouted a voice as Smoky released her. Connie looked to see a tall Green Gem in a emerald blazer standing before her, as she looked around, she saw the other Gems place their closed fists over their chests.

"Master Peridot, you're alive!" Thorn shouted, as she broke free from Amethyst grasp and rushed to the Gem before her. "I though you died on Venatio."

"I almost did, but I managed to escape the encampment and sneak onto this ship. I am sorry I did not tell you right away, but I had to make sure that things are okay." His attention then turned to Connie. "Oh, so you're the carrier of ROQU."

The other Gems gasped as they stared at Connie. Amethyst, Garnet and Connie looked around in confusion as the Gems saluted her.

"Yeah…I am a Gem too. I got these powers after…my boyfriend…died…" Connie looked down to the ground as her memories of Pearl's horrific acts filled her head. She then felt a hand pat her on the head as she looked up at the Gem master before her.

"Do not dwell in the past ROQU, for even though the wounds are there, they will heal one day." Peridot then tilted his head and smiled. "I can see that you are pregnant as well."

This alarmed the other Gems as they looked at Connie, who looked at her stomach.

"But that's impossible, Gems cannot reproduce!" Spinel exclaimed.

"How can she reproduce while we can't?" Smoky interjected.

"She is a liar and a fraud." Thorn shouted, "More than that, she could be a spy for DI."

"She is not, she is a human, and she acquired a Gemian Gem." Peridot said in defence, "Unlike normal Gem, Gemians can reproduce. This incarnation acquired her powers from a offspring of ROQU."

The Gems looked at each other as they muttered in agreement. As they focused their attention on Garnet and Amethyst, Peridot turned back to Connie.

"I can see that you are highly respected as a leader." Connie said as she crossed her arms. Watching as Garnet and Amethyst talked to the refugees.

"Well, most of the respect comes from the fact that I am a disciple of TO." Peridot replied, "But I rarely had to pull that rank for a while."

Connie then paused and looked up to the green Gem. "Then you know where zie is!"

Peridot frowned as he placed his hand on Connie shoulder. "I am sorry to say this" Peridot sighed, "But I was going to ask you the same thing."

Connie turned for a minute to think. "So Topaz left no clue or idea as to where zie would have gone to?"

"No, zie did not." Peridot said softly, "The last time I saw zir was when we were escaping from Insidiae. We had to split up and zie told me that I would find zir on Terrae."

Connie scratched her head in puzzlement. "Well that is pointless, zie could be anywhere on earth."

"Did Topaz say anything specific?" Garnet asked, having escaped the mob of Gems who were enticed by Amethyst whoppers about the Purple Puma. "A specific temple or colony perhaps?"

Peridot rubbed his face as he thought about what Topaz told him. "I do know that he had been to your planet many times before." Then the green Gem beamed in realization. "Oh! He also told me something else."

"…and it was…" Connie asked, gesturing her hand in a circle. She was getting annoyed by the hesitation and pausing.

"That if I ever did arrive on Terrae, that zie would be in a place where DI would never find zir, zie said, "I will be mourned for nothing but war, and be remember for nothing but war. I will be known for being unknown and my home will be unknown."

Connie thought about it for a moment before her eyes beamed up. "I know where zie is!" she shouted, grabbing the attention of the other Gems and Amethyst, who pushed the Gems aside to approach Connie.

"Where…who…what?" said Amethyst, "Where is Zie? And more importantly, what is a Zie?"

"She is referring to Master Topaz." Garnet clarified.

"Come one, we have to go now." Connie said as she ran over to the van.

"If you're going to get TO, then I am coming too." Peridot exclaimed to the Earth Gems. He then turned back to Thorn and clasped her hands, placing a small note in her hands.

"Thorn, I need you to go to the Tribunal Temple. Its location is marked in this note. Do not attempt to fight DI until we return with TO, Is that clear?

Thorn nodded as she turned around and waved her hand, this caused a portal to open up before the Gems. As Smoky, Spinel, and the other refugees entered the Portal, Thorn looked back to Peridot as he walked to the van and sighed.

"Be safe Master…" Thorn whispered before entering the portal and closing it behind her.

As Peridot watched the portal close, he enters the van alongside Amethyst and Connie.

"So…where are we going?" Amethyst said to Connie, "Because if we are going far, then we need snacks."

"Well…" Connie replied as she pulled out a map. "Topaz said that "zie would be remembered for nothing but war, and zie would be known for being unknown," What monument is known for being unknown and for mourning war."

"Ooh! Ooh! Ooh!" Amethyst shouted as she waver her hand like a kindergartener. "I have no fucking idea!"

Connie sighed as she rubbed her eyes. "What Topaz is referring to is the Tomb of the Unknown Solder. It is a memorial in Washington D.C."

"So we are going all the way to this Washington?" Garnet asked as she started the car, "I hope you are right about this."

As Connie smiled, she opened the window and looked up at Lion who was sleeping on the roof. He then quickly woke up and roared, creating a portal before the van.

"I always wanted to see the capital." Connie said excitedly to Peridot, who nodded in blind agreement despite paying more attention to the crow that was circling above them.

With that in mind, the four Gems, and lion braced themselves as they dove into the portal. As it closed behind them, the crow flew down to where the portal closed and transformed into Onyx. Who had been watching them the entire time. She then scooped up some dirt from the ground, compressed it in her hand, and blew into it. As she opened her hand, there was a red ember in her hand. As she looked at it, it shined brightly before projecting a large face, a face that belonged to the Gemian God Diamond.

"What have you found?" Diamond said to his servant.

"Master, I know where Topaz is." Onyx said as she kneeled to Diamond, "The Thief and her Gems are heading to zir location as we speak."

Good work Onychinos, now once you locate Topaz's location. I will send Agates and Lapis to acquire zir."

"Lapis?" Onyx said in confusion, "She is one of us now?"

"Yes" Diamond replied, suddenly solidifying before his servant, "Your find was much more special than you assumed. It is because of things like this that I see you as my daughter."

Onyx eyes widened in surprise at what the Master has said, as she stared at the Master before her, as she stood up before him, she felt his hand gently brush her face.

"You…you consider me…your daughter?" Onyx asked in shock, "But you have never allowed me or the others to see ourselves as your children. You have punished us for calling you…"

"Father?" Diamond answered, looking down at the Gem before her with a feeling he had not felt in eons. "While that is true for Vestibulum and Zirconia, you are the only exception for you are worthy to be called "Child of DI".

She then found herself burying herself Diamond's robe as she sobbed, feeling her Master's hands hold her to him. As she looked up to him, she looked into his eyes of silver, which she had not seen since her conception. The very sigh filled her body with a desire she had not felt in centuries.

"Diamond…Father…" Onyx whispered with a shutter as she felt his hand tilt her face upward to him "I…I need you…"

"You have proven your loyalty and obedience to Obsidian…" Diamond replied back as he brought her closer to him. "…and to me, my child."

Onyx felt the sensation as Diamond kissed her, Onyx moaned as she felt Diamond's hands remove her robes. Onyx then laid back on the ground below her and Diamond began to remove his robes. Onyx examined the body of the Gemian God before her. Scars and cuts covered his body, the letter "DI" branded on his right pectoral. As he moved closer to him, she rose up and kissed his neck and then chest. Diamond gasped lightly at this sensation, perhaps just this once, he could allow her to be in control.

Onyx then turned Diamond onto his back and stood above his weapon. As she took a deep breath, she lowered herself onto him, feeling her master enter her very being. As she began to thrust, Diamond quickly began to grab onto her, attempting to gain control of the situation. Onyx quickly lowered herself and lightly bit into his neck, Diamond twitched as she grabbed him by the hair.

"Onychinos, this is un-unacceptable…I…I have..I have to…to."

Onyx smiled as she lifted herself up, allowing Diamond to grab onto her and assert himself, Onyx shouted in pleasure as Diamond slammed into her, biting into her neck and grasping her breast. As Onyx felt the rhythm begin to move faster, she wrapped her legs around Diamond's back, forcing him to release within his daughter.

As Diamond redressed himself, he opened a portal and then turned to Onyx.

"I will not fail you…Father," Onyx said, still getting use to the new freedom.

"I know you will." Diamond said as she entered the portal and vanished.

Just as he disappeared, Onyx heard a police siren in the distance. She then quickly transformed before the trucks arrived. As they stopped before the ship, they opened in the back allowing the solders and scientists to approach the wreckage. As once solder noticed the crouched figure nearby, he approached it, revealing a man with black hair and yellow glasses in a black suit and red tie by the name of David Facilier. The solder quickly saluted in response.

"At ease solder." David said with a smile, "I'm just checking up on the wreckage of this vessel."

"Sorry sir." The solder replied meekly, "Do you need me to contact HQ?"

David pondered this for a moment before smiling yet again.

"Yeah, can you tell them that I need a chopper to Washington D.C?"

"Sir Yes sir!" the solder replied as he removed his radio, "Is there a specific reason for this?"

"Oh nothing too serious…" David replied as he looked at the sky above him.

"…I thought I'd go pay my respects to an old friend."


	5. The Hunt: Part 2

Original Idea by: Scraps  
Collaboration work with: Cleverun  
Characters Created by: Rebecca Sugar  
Chapter 5: Topaz the Hunted: Part 2  
[*]

Arlington National Cemetery, present day

There was a bang and a flash as the van slid from lion's portal and into the streets of the cemetery, the Gems looked around as they saw the hundreds of gravestones, each marking the sign of one who had passed on. The whole area was cold and crisp with death. The Gems soon drove to a large hill with a larger monument on top of it. From van, the Gems could see a lone guard patrolling the tomb.

"Alright so here is the plan," Peridot explained to the rest of the Gems, I will create a diversion, while Garnet and Amethyst will hold off the reinforcements. This will give enough time for Connie to break open the tomb and acquire Topaz."

Connie gave Peridot an expression of horror. "You want me to destroy a artifact? A artifact, I mind you, I used in my American History class? Forget it, if there is one thing I will not destroy, that would be the tomb of the unknown."

"We have no choice," Garnet interjected, "every minute we waste give Diamond the advantage, we need to acquire Topaz now."

Well I am not sitting here waiting to be Agate chow." Amethyst snarled she slammed open the van's side door and began marching towards the tomb, "I have lost my home, my friends, and my colossus burrito that I was saving for Christmas, if you think that I am going to take this bull-"  
"I think there are more important things right now than you're precious "burrito"" Peridot interjected playfully.

That was the final straw. Amethyst roared before transforming into a large purple wrestler known as "The Purple Puma." Within a blink of an eye, the behemoth charged up the hillside towards the tomb and its lone guard.

"Stop right there, you brute." The guard said before being smack aside by Puma and then tumbling down the hill.

Before anyone else began to act, Amethyst began to smash open the tomb. Chunks of marble flew everywhere with each attack. Peridot, Garnet and Connie watched with horror and awe at the spectacle before them.

"So I guess there is no need for a distraction then?" Garnet said as she walked over to calm Amethyst down.

As Connie wondered when ether desecrating and destroying a artifact of the Commonwealth was worth it, Peridot looked up at the sky to see a crow hovering over them.  
"Connie" Peridot whispered to Connie while yanking her arm, "Did you notice that crow that has been following us since we left.

Connie looked up at the crow, which was now perched on a grave around them. Connie then noticed something off about it.

"That's not a crow…" Connie whispered back to Peridot, "It's an Eastern Raven, and…and they are quite uncommon in the northern area.

"Thought so!" Peridot shouted as he placed both his arms over his Gems and summoned his swords. He then leaped into the air and swung a wave of energy at the Raven. The attack struck the raven, but as it was hit, it exploded into a black mist. Shortly afterward, Garnet and Amethyst ran up to the commotion.

"What happened?" Garnet asked the Gems.

"It's Diamond," Peridot shouted as he armed himself "He followed us here, brace yourselves."

Garnet and Amethyst quickly summoned their weapons and joined Connie and Peridot. The four Gems then formed a circle around the mist-covered Cemetery, waiting for the moment when the attack would come.

"Hey Gar," Amethyst whispered to Garnet, "We've dealt with Gem beasts and rogue Gems, what are our chances of dealing with a Gem God?"

"I don't know…" Garnet said, looking around for a sign of an attack. "But no matter what happens, we cannot hold back."

It felt like hours before Peridot noticed a figure moving in the shadow,

"You're not getting the upper hand on me, not again. " Master Diamond," "Peridot said to himself, "This time, I am ready for you! This time, I will avenge my Gem brethren."

Just then, there was a loud screech, followed by a sudden shift in the air as the mist divided into two clouds. One formed into Onyx, the other formed into Pearl.

Garnet glared at Pearl in horror and anger, without hesitation, she charged at her former Gem sister. Only to be parried and slashed across the chest, causing the Gem to fall onto the ground.  
"GARNET, NO!" Peridot shouted at Garnet before being attacked by a black water spear. As he looked up, he saw before him a Gem of blue skin, Blackshot eyes, and Black liquid wings.

"Lapis…Lapis Lazuli?" Peridot whispered in fear, "No…not my sister. No…."

Lapis responded by sticking her tongue at her brother, as she quickly teleported before him and jabbed him in the chest. Causing him to spit up blood and fall onto his knees.

"How...I should have detected you." Peridot strained as he fell to his side. Looking up to see Amethyst fighting before she became entrapped within a large Onyx claw. He then turned to Connie, who was backing away in fear and mouthed the words "run."

The Moment Connie turned around to run, she slammed herself into a tall being. As she looked up in horror, there standing before her, was a tall Gem, A gem of silver hair, red eyes, and a sensation of weakness and inferiority. Connie backed away a little before summoning her weapons before the Master.

"It is about time we finally met face to face, little Furem." Diamond said as his eyes scanned his opponent. "I did not expect my foe to be so…young."

Connie's face turned pale at the sight before her. All the months of torment, the months of loss, her fantasies of finally extracting the retribution, were finally here. However, when she faced the towering Gem, she felt a sensation of insignificance, as if she were but a mere insect to the Gemian God before her. Connie quickly snapped out of this and gritted her teeth at the Master.

"SHUT UP!" Connie shouted at she Gem Master while arming her blade and shield, "It's because of you that my family is gone, my home is gone…Steven is gone…it's all YOUR FAULT!" Connie then lunged at Diamond, only for her to be lifted into the air and thrown into a tombstone. As she lifted herself up, she quickly noticed Diamond swinging his mace above her and blocked the attack with her shield. The impact created a loud ringing in the air. Diamond then removed his weapon and stepped back.

"Please understand Furem, that what I do is for the best of this Universe. Do you not understand that chaos is caused by the decisions you have made, the mistakes you have made? Your Universe was given a gift by the Gem Mother, and like spoiled children, you have squandered that gift, and I have no choice, but to take it away from you. This is not a means to conquer or destroy, but to survive and build a better Universe, for you, for your people, and for your child."

Connie shook her head indisbelief before charging at the Gem before her. As she swung her blade, Diamond avoided each attack. As if he knew the attacks before they happened. As Connie attempted to fling her shield at Diamond, he grabbed the shield, looking at the weapon before breaking it in his hand.

"I see that for a Furem, you have some understanding over our powers." Diamond said as he dissipated his weapon, "However, you have yet to scratch the surface as what a Gemian can do. Not even that abomination of Rose's could comprehend the things our Tribunal could do."

Diamond then widened his expression slightly as if he realized something; he began to sense an additional life from within the Furem before her. Narrowing his eyes in irritation, he lifted one of his hands and clenched it slightly.

"What are you doing?" Connie shouted to Diamond, who responded with a glare. For some reason, this was beginning to anger Connie, as she looked into Diamond's eyes, she felt an overwhelming sensation of rage, rage at the Gem who ruined her life and killed her love. "Stop that! I'll kill you…I'll…I'LL KILL YOU!"

As Garnet watched, she heard a small voice call out to her; she recognized the voice, looking forward to Connie as she was preparing a charged attack.

"Auntie, it hurts…I can't breathe…make him stop…he's hurting me!"

Garnet realized what was going to happen, remembering why Diamond had Steven and his original child killed in the first place. She then looked to Diamond, who had his clenching hand pointed at Connie. Within seconds, Connie shouted at Diamond before charging straight at him.

"CONNIE STOP!" Garnet shouted at Connie, who ran at Diamond like an enraged animal. "HE WANTS YOU TO ATTACK HIM, HE KILLING HER!"

Her shouts were ignored as Connie lifted her blade to swing her blade at the Gem before her, not noticing that when she was about several feet away from him, Diamond clenched his hand into a fist.

Connie then stopped completely, her body jolt and her stomach tighten…

Garnet then heard a loud piercing scream, a scream like that of a little girl…

She then realized what had happened, tears flowing from her eyes before feeling a blade touch her neck.

"Try to interfere and you will die" Pearl whispered to her victim as she watched the spectacle before her.

Peridot, Onyx, Lapis, and Amethyst stared at Connie as she stood there, dropping her weapons and grabbing her stomach, looking to her opponent with an expression of horror as he opened his clenched fist before her.

The center of his palm was a red stain, almost like blood…  
"Now you will understand the price for facing a God," Diamond said as he gestured to her "And that price is loss."

Connie looked down slowly at her body, she looked down at her pants that were becoming stained with blood. She then began to shutter at the realization of what had happened, Realizing that once again, she had experienced loss. Within moments of this new though, Connie knelt to the ground, her hands wrapped over her stomach, and fell to her sides. She curled up into a ball as she wept loudly. As Diamond watched with a cold stare, Onyx moved beside him.

"What now?" Onyx asked her master, who gave her a look of irritation.

"Now that Rose's Vitae is in one piece, I will extract her Vitae," said Diamond, before looking to Peridot. "But not before I acquire something else first."

As Diamond approached Peridot, he stopped and turned to see the Tomb guard aiming his rifle at the Gemian. Peridot turned as well, noticing the strange way he was holding the rifle. Almost like a completely different weapon. As Diamond looked at the man, his eyes widened at surprise.  
"I am sorry brother, but I cannot let you do that." The guard said.

"YOU!" Diamond said before being blasted back by a large bolt of golden energy.

Onyx watched as her Master flew into a pair of tombstones. She then turned back to the assailant, who quickly smashed Onyx's face into the earth below her. As he turned to Lapis, who released her grip on Amethyst and lunged at the solder, he parried around her hand jabbed his hand into her Gem, causing her to revert into a Gem and fall to the ground. The solder then picked up the Gem and looked at it. As he did, he changed form, turning into a being with blond hair and a suit with a topaz gem on the left side of his arm.

"I am sorry I was not there for you and your brother, I cannot forgive myself for whatever hell you have endured, but that changes now." As zie placed the Lapis Gem into zir pocket, zie turned to Peridot.

"Creator?" Peridot said to the gold colored Gem before him, a sensation of relief that his master and creator was before him.

"Hello my son" Topaz smiled to zir son "I can see the years have been kind to you."

Zis attention was then drawn to Connie, who was keeled over and crying, Topaz walked over to her and kneeled beside her. As zie looked down to her, zis eyes began to pour with tears.  
"Oh my sweet child," Topaz said to Connie as zie lifted her up to zir breast and kissed her forehead, "What has happened to you?"

"H-he killed her…he killed m-my baby!" Connie wept to the Gemian before her, "He killed both of them!

Topaz then stood up and faced Diamond, who too was standing up from the attack.

"She is a thief Topaz" Diamond hissed at his sibling "She has something that belongs to ME!"  
"She carries Rose's powers for a reason brother." Topaz said sternly to Diamond "You of all Gems should understand that."

Topaz heard a loud shout as both Onyx and Pearl lunged at Topaz, only to be blocked by a large force field. Topaz looked behind zirself to see Peridot with his hands extended, creating the aforementioned bubble that trapped the two Gems.

"Magicae Scutum Lucem" Peridot said as he pushed the field away, "Works every time."

"Well done Peridot. Now, tend to the others. I will deal with Diamond."

As Topaz handed Connie to Peridot, zie turned to face Diamond. Topaz then summoned zir large golden lance and aimed it at zir brother.

"Diamond, I don't want to hurt you." Topaz said

"Then you should have thought of that before betraying our cause." Diamond replied "Because I have no problem killing traitors."

"The only traitor here is you." Topaz rebutted, "I know you only want Rose and my powers for your own view or order. What you are doing is far from order, using the Leviathan, killing Gems, you are no hero, and you are nothing more than a monster."

"You have become corrupt." Said Diamond as he armed himself with his mace, "You have allowed the poison to infect your mind, do you not see what these…children do to each other if left untreated? They will kill each other over meaningless ideals and wants. What I am doing is what our mother wanted us to do, to protect this Universe from evil, no matter the cost. Everything I have done is for the greater good."

"I see…" Topaz said as zie started to walk sideways, while Diamond did the same, "...and how does raping Rose and using the Obsidian Leviathan count towards the greater good?"

Diamond snarled at his sibling, "It was necessary to ensure control. I have to be in control of everything if I want order. Rose did not comply and I was forced to take action for the sake of the Univ-."

Just then, Diamond eyes widened as he turned behind him, his expression turned to a look of both shock and rage, as if he realized that he was losing something.

"Vestibulum, Onychinos, to me!" Diamond shouted as the tow Gems replied, standing next to their master before he summons a portal around them.

"I will offer this only once Topaz and this goes for the rest of you as well." Diamond said as he looked to his sibling, then to the other Gems. "If you truly care for your Universe, then you will return to Beach City and surrender to me."

"Mother wouldn't want this." Topaz said in response.

"She is not here to decide that is she?" Diamond said as he dissipated into the portal, but not before pointing at his sibling "You…you were always her *favorite*!"

As the portal vanished, Topaz sighed before turning to Garnet, Amethyst, and Peridot. He gave them a small smile before turning to Lion, who had just pounced in.

"Where the fuck have you been?" Amethyst shouted at Lion, "We could have used your help you pink panther reject!"

Garnet placed her hand on the Purple Gem's shoulder to stop her. As Amethyst looked up to Garnet, she could see that the three-eyed gem was a look of desolation, as if she had seen something that rattled her very core. The two Gems watched as Topaz walked up to Lion and petted his man.  
"It has been a while hasn't it?" Topaz said with a smile, "I wish Nilmer was here to see you…"  
Lion growled as he opened a portal behind him. Topaz smile faded as zie turned to Peridot who was carrying an unconscious Connie.

"How is she?" Topaz asked as zie placed zir hand on her head.

"She is not injured." Peridot said with a sigh, "But her baby…"

Garnet could overhear the conversation and cringed, her eyes welling up at the thought of what Diamond had done.

Topaz looked down at the Gem before zir and sighed, he knew that this loss was not new to her and that it was because of Diamond.

"Where are the others?" Topaz said to zir son?

"They said they would meet us after we found you, I think Lion is talking us to them."

"Good" Topaz said as zie walked to the portal. "We need to come up with a plan and we need to fast."

As Peridot watched his creator enter the portal, he looked back down at Connie, who laid within his arms. He sighed as he joined Garnet and Amethyst, who sat in the van, waiting silently for Peridot to join them. As soon as Peridot entered the car, Garnet started it, and drove into the portal.

[*]  
Crystal Temple Exterior, present day,

[*]

A portal opened at the door to the temple as Diamond stepped out of it, followed by Pearl and then Onyx. Diamond turned his attention to beach city and saw the encampment before him. The camp had been destroyed, parts of Agates were scattered everywhere, it was apparent that there was a large battle here. As Onyx looked in shock, she turned to her master and saw his eyes fill with rage. She knew that Zirconia, the Gem assigned to watch Beach City, would be punished severely.

"Vestibulum" Diamond said as he turned to Pearl, "Go and gather the Agates, then patrol the city for anything suspicious."

Pearl nodded as she sprung towards the city. Diamond then turned and began to walk to the temple.  
"Onychinos, to me." He said as Onyx followed behind, Concerned as to what had happened.  
"Father, what happeed, where is everyone?" Onyx asked the Gemian before here.

Diamond then stopped in his tracks and quickly turned to his servant. As he did, Onyx felt the pain of a large fist backhanding her to the ground. As Onyx sat up, she looked to the towering Gem above her and felt a jolt of fear course through her body.

"You will address me as Master." Diamond hissed to Onyx, "If you call me otherwise, I will rip out your tongue! Now stand up!"

Onyx quickly stood up and began to follow her master; her mind was filled with confusion as to what had just happened. It seemed like only yesterday that he allowed her to call him father, and now he does not.

[*]

Crystal Temple Catacombs, present day,

[*]

Diamond and Onyx walked the long halls of the temple; they continued this until they reached the burning room. It was a large room with a pit of lava in the center. In front of that pit was Zirconia, muttering to herself as she was throwing things into the pit. Both Gems could also see that Zirconia was missing an arm.

"…and if Master finds out he will punish me, but what would he know, all he does is make us do his dirty work. Now thanks to that crazy Gem everything is fucked up."

"I would think that would be the least of your concerns Zirconia" Diamond said bitterly as Zirconia spun around in shock at her master's voice. Theu both could see a large burn on the side of Zirconia's face. However, Diamond took no note of the wounds as he marched forward and grabbed his servant by the throat and lifted her into the air.

"Master!" Zirconia gasped as she tried to break free, "Have mercy!"

"Mercy is an illusion, and it is only used by cowards and failures." Diamond growled as she brought Zirconia to his face. "Now explain to me how those humans we able to escape an army of Agates and a Gemian?"

Zirconia gasped as she looked to the floor, Diamond turned torwards the floor as well and saw a piece of paper on the floor next to him. He then proceeded to throw Zirconia into the wall and then reach down to pick up the paper. On the paper was a crude drawing involving a Gem with black and grey hair killing Master Diamond with a large ax. Diamond furrowed his brow before reading the note on it.

"I'm gonna get you." –Howl

Diamond stood back up and examined the note before crumpling it up and throwing it in the lava pit. He then turned back to Zirconia and approached her.

"Why did you not inform me about Howlite?" Diamond said as he towered over her.

"I…I did not realize who she was until she attacked me." Zirconia said in defense, "I did not know honest."

Onyx watched as Diamond once again lifted his servant into the air. In a sence of pity, she tried to intervene.

"Master, what I-"

"SILENCE!" Diamond shouted, the whole temple shook from his voice, who had never seen her master so angry before, "If I want to hear your opinion, then I will beat it out of you!"

Onyx shuttered at the sound of Diamond's voice, his very voice echoed through her whole body.  
"I have also realized that I am the one at fault for this." Diamond said to his servants, "I have allowed myself to be corrupted by emotion and become too lenient. Because of this, not only has Topaz escaped with the Furem, now Zirconia has shown that a mere group of primates can defeat a Gemian…"

Diamond then turned to Onyx, "As for you, I have allowed my own corruption fill you with a desire of love. I will not accept that and I will purge it from your body if you do not first!"

Onyx froze, remembering what had happened at the crash site, all the things Diamond said and did. The very though caused tears to fall from her eyes as she stared at her master with a look of disbelief.

"But…what you said…you said I was…your…"

"Daughter?" Diamond hissed as he dropped Zirconia to the ground before walking up to his black-haired servant, "I remember what I said, and I do not care. Let me remind you Onychinos, that you are a TOOL! Your purpose is to do what I say, when I say it, without question, objection, or remorse. You were created as a tool, and you will die as one. I carry no love for you, nor will I ever!"

He then turned his attention back to Zirconia and forced her up against the wall. "Nor do I carry mercy. For too long, I have allowed your failures to proceed. Twice you have failed to obtain the Furem's Vitae. That, among this, is unacceptable and leaves me with only one option."  
Diamond then bent down to Zirconia so he could whisper his choice into her ear.

"I must kill you."

Zirconia quickly broke down onto the floor in a mix of gibbering cries to pleas of mercy. Diamond simply looked down with an expression of malice.

"Get up." Diamond commanded his servant, who stood up without hesitation.  
"Look at me." Diamond said as she proceeded to do so.

"Who am I?" Diamond asked as he placed his hands on her shoulders.

Zirconia looked at Diamond's hands before looking back to her master, her eyes poured with Obsidian tears. "You are my master…" Zirconia said with a whimper.

"Are you afraid of me?" Diamond asked.

"Yes…"

"Do you want me to kill you?"

"No…"

"Why?"

Zirconia hesitated before giving her master a tearful smile.

"Because I don't want to die!"

"Now you are learning." replied Diamond, jaw split open down the middle, opening up and revealing a set of tentacles, barbed sets of fangs and a large barbed tube-like tongue. He then plunged into Zirconia's neck. Onyx watched in horror as Diamond drained the Vitae from her grandchild. However, unlike the other times Diamond fed, this time he ripped himself loose from Zirconia's neck. As he did, a chuck of her neck was torn off, causing the Gem to cream as she held the gushing wound and dropped to the floor. As Zirconia tried to stop the bleeding, her attention was then drawn to Diamond, who stood over her with his mace over his head.

All Zirconia was able to do was scream as Diamond brought his mace down upon her. With no hesitation or remorse, he did not stop as he beat her into the earth; Zirconia's scrams and gurgles mixed as he broke her bones, sashed her body, and splattered her blood all over the floor around them. Onyx could feel the vibrations of each impact with the mace through her body, the room, and perhaps, the entire temple.

After what felt like hours, Diamond finally stopped, his robes and mace soaked with blood, standing over a crater of mush that was once a Gem. He reached into the pile of remains and removed a gem from the pile. He then proceeded to drain the Vitae form it before casting it into the pit of lava. As Onyx watched the Gem melt in the pool, she was drawn back to Diamond, who was now standing before her.

"Now it is your turn." Diamond said blankly as he cast away his mace. Onyx backed away slightly before she fell onto a large stone slab. She then felt as the slab locked around her ankles and heels. Immobilizing her as Diamond disrobed.

"I will now prove to you that what you experienced back at the crash site was nothing to me." Diamond hissed as he stood above his prey.

"Master, no-" Onyx's pleas were stopped by Diamond's hand clasping around her mouth. All she could do was scream as Diamond tore off her robes. She cried in pain as he stuck himself into her, his hand then found themselves around her neck, squeezing tighter with each thrust.

Onyx tried to break free, but it was no use. She could feel herself falling unconscious as she choked under Diamond's grasp.

"May this be a remind Onychinos, that I am always in control!" Diamond exclaimed, as he slammed into her harder.

All Onyx could do was look into Master Diamond's molten red eyes before everything turn to darkness. Even though she could still feel him, she found the darkness safe.

For a while, she was safe…


	6. The Gemain

Original Idea by: Scraps

Collaboration work with: Cleverun

Characters Created by: Rebecca Sugar

Chapter 6: A Gemian Apart

[*]

**Tribunal Temple, present day**

As the van rushed out of the portal and came to a screeching halt before the temple, the Gems within it stepped outside. First was Topaz, carrying Connie within zir arms, then came Peridot, followed by Garnet and then Amethyst. As the Gems walked towards the temple, Garnet and Amethyst looked at a crater they were passing by; it was the same crater that was created from the Agate they fought a long time ago. Garnet bit her lip as she looked to the temple; the very sight reminded her of her failure to Steven and to Pearl. Amethyst noticed this and placed a hand on Garnet's shoulder. Garnet looked to her Gem sister and then continued to walk to the temple.

As the Gems entered the Temple, Thorn, Spinel, and the other Gem refugees greeted them. Upon seeing Topaz, the Gems quickly bowed to their leader.

"There is no need for that at this time." Topaz said as zie continued walking, "Where is Turquoise?"

Thorn rose from the floor and approached Topaz. As the Gemian looked into her eyes, zie knew what had happened.

"You combined your Vitae…" Topaz said as zie stepped before Thorn, zir brow furrowed in disbelief "Malachite, how could you do this, do you realize that what you have done is permanent?"

Thorn flinched at the Gem Master's exclamation before speaking. "I...I hand no choice Master. Master Diamond attacked Venatio and killed both Turquoise and Sapphire; Azurite would have become an Agate if I did not intervene. I could not stand to see her as a mindless puppet."

"As what I can tell, this form is no different." Topaz said coldly as zie turn and walked away, leaving a distraught Thorn behind zir.

As Peridot looked to the crying Thorn and then to Topaz, he quickly rushed to his Creator, with Garnet and Amethyst tagging behind him.

The three Gems found Topaz in zir study, standing before zir desk. Topaz then turned his head lightly as the contents of zir desk were thrown off the table. Zie then placed Connie onto the table and stood back up. As Peridot approached Topaz, he could see tears running down zir face.

"Master Topaz?" Peridot said cautiously to the Gemian, choosing his words carefully, "Is she going to be all right?"

Topaz looked down at the Gem child before zir; zie could see her eyes were hollow and cold. Her face was without expression and her gaze was as if she was dead. Just the very sigh of her face caused fresh tears to run down Topaz's cheeks.

"She is in so much pain, Emerald." Topaz whispered, wiping the tears from zir eyes with zir hand "The trauma my brother gave to her has brought her into a catatonic state. I do not know if I can fix this."

Peridot watched as Topaz placed zir hand over Connie's forehead. He watched as a small yellow light began to flicker from zir hand onto Connie's head. As soon as the light touched Connie, her chest rose up and she gasped lightly. Garnet and Amethyst watched in suspense as Connie's body returned to its natural state and her eyes close.

"What did you do?" Amethyst shouted as she approached the Gemian, grabbing zir by zir suit and aiming her fist at zir. "TELL ME WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO?"

Peridot and Garnet quickly grabbed Amethyst and held her back, allowing the Gemian to continue his work.

"Let me go!" Amethyst shouted as the Gems pulled her back, "Zie's hurting her."

"No zie is not." Peridot replied as he pulled the purple Gem towards him, "Zie is using a Gemian ability called _Somnium Eo_, it will allow Topaz to enter Connie's mind and heal her. You have to trust zir."

Amethyst glared angrily at Peridot as tears began to form in her eyes, "How the fuck am I supposed to do that? Every Gem I know is a traitor." Amethyst said with a light scoff as she pulled herself free of Garnet and Peridot and slumped on to the floor, cupping her hands to her face. "Steven's dead, Pearl is a traitor, how could she do this to us? We were a team for years. YEARS and all this time, she was…she…"

Garnet sat down and comforted her Gem sister, cringing at the thought that nine months ago she was a carefree Gem who barely took anything seriously. Now, it was almost if that carefree Gem was long gone.

As Peridot looked to the two Gems, he noticed Smoky approaching him; she had a small hesitant look on her face.

"Not is not a good time Smoky." Peridot sighed, "Can you give is a few minutes? I will speak to you later."

"I apologize Master," Smoky said as she lightly bowed, "But this is urgent, it involves Beach City."

The very mention of the city caused both Amethyst and Garnet to look to Smoky. Amethyst quickly rose up and grabbed the large Gem by the robe.

"What is it, what happened to Beach City?" Amethyst shouted as Garnet quickly grabbed her Gem sister away from Smoky.

"Well, one of our scouts reported that there was an attack on the city." Smoky said to the three Gems, "It involved a small group of humans known as G.E.R.M."

Peridot eyes widened at the mention of the name "They attacked beach city? Why would a group of humans attack a Gem fortress, it would be suicidal unless they had help from the inside."

Smokey then looked to her right as she prepared her next words carefully, "Well…about that…um…I was meaning to tell you that…uh…Howlite is here for you. She had just arrived after helping liberate the humans of that city.

Peridot froze; a small smile began to grow on the Gem Master's face.

"She is alive?" he whispered before hugging Smoky. "SHE IS ALIVE! OH THANK GEMIA!"

Garnet and Amethyst looked in confusion as Peridot broke form the hug and rushed away, eager to find the aforementioned Gem. As they looked to Smoky, her expression was a mix of joy and concern.

"What is wrong with Howlite?" Garnet asked the large Gem as she approached her

"Well, after talking with her for some time, I have reason to believe that she has become….unstable."

"Unstable?" Garnet replied with a confused look, "What do you mean by unstable?"

[*]

**Tribunal Temple Training Room, present day**

Master Diamond staggered back as he received a heavy punch in the face from another Gem. This Gem, which was known as Howlite, had silver hair with black highlights and white skin, with only the left side of her face, which appeared to be cracked. She had a grey gem on the back of her left hand that also appeared to be cracked. As she pulled back from the punch she had thrown, Diamond stood back up and held his jaw in his hand. Just then, a voice suddenly boomed in the room.

[CRITICAL IMPACT TO JAW…DAMAGE RECEIVED: BROKEN JAW…ESTIMATED DAMAGE PERCENT: 8%.]

Howlite grinned as she summoned her large battle-ax. Diamond then spat at the ground before summoning his mace and charging at Howlite. The cracked Gem quickly dogged the attack and slashed at Diamond, cutting into his back.

[LARGE CUT TO BACK OF TARGET…DAMAGED RECEIVED: CRITICAL CUT TO BACK…ESTIMATED DAMAGE PERCENT: 19%]

Diamond turned to Howlite as she brought up her ax. A large grin stretched across her face as her silver eyes widened. Diamond gritted his teeth as he brought up his mace and swung it towards her. As he did, the head of the mace detached and bolted at Howlite. The cracked Gem simply dogged each attack as Diamond flung his flail at her. However, Diamond then pulled his weapon back, causing the flail to swing back and smack his opponent in the head. Howlite staggered and knelt to the floor as Diamond retracted his mace and began to approach his target.

[LARGE IMPACT TO SKULL…DAMAGED RECEIVED: MODERATE CONCUSSION…ESTIMATED DAMAGE PERCENT: 23%...OPPONENT HAS RECEIVED AN OPENING.]

As Diamond stood above his victim, lifting his mace to give the finishing blow, he swung his weapon down upon the Gem before him, hearing a large clang as she quickly blocked the attack. Howlite looked up at Diamond with a wide-eyed grin, her head bleeding from Diamond's earlier attack. She then quickly pushed forward, causing Diamond to fall back as his opponent began to rise up, as the Gems pushed against one another, Howlite finally used all her strength to spin her ax around and parry both her ax and Diamond's mace out of their hands.

[BOTH PARTIES ARE DISARMED…PROBABILITY OF DEFEAT: 43%]

Howlite quickly pounced and tackled Diamond as she sat on top of him, with a large grin, her reached behind her back and pulled out a dagger. Diamond watched in horror as she lifted the dagger with both hands.

[TARGET HAS BEEN DEFEATED…DEFENDANT IS VICTORIOUS.]

The booming voice had no effect on Howlite as she let out a large shriek, plunging the dagger into Diamond's chest. Diamond shouted and gurgled as Howlite stabbed the Gemian repeatedly. Howlite watched as her prey flicker from master Diamond to a crystal based figure. She then took her dagger and sliced it across the hologem's neck. Slicing left and right until the head fell off. Howlite smiled as she picked up the head and pressed it to her forehead. As she did, she envisioned the Hologem's head as that of Master Diamond, imaging herself looking into the dead eyes of the Gemian she desired to kill.

Howlite's fantasy was cut short by the intrusion of a new voice, once that sounded very familiar.

"Howl?" said Peridot, who moments ago arrived to watch the spectacle before her.

Howlite turned to the green Gem beside her. As she looked into his eyes, she suddenly remembered who this Gem was to her. A smile crept on her face as she stood up, rushing over to the Gemian and embracing him with a large hug around her waist.

"Quartzy!" Howlite squeaked as she tightened her hug

"It's good to see you too." Peridot said with a smile as he broke the hug and looked down to his friend. He immediately noticed her cracks and frowned at the sight. "What has happened to you? The last time I saw you, we were fighting on Insidiae."

As soon as Peridot mentioned Insidiae, Howlite's smile faded quickly, replaced with a large scowl towards the Gemian, Howlite then turned away from her master, fidgeting with the Hologem head in her hands.

"You left me to die on Insidiae, remember?" Howlite said with a flat tone, tracing the lines of the Hologem head with her fingers. "You left me to rot with those rogue Gems we were going to "save."

"Howlite…" Peridot said, taken aback from his friend's response, "I did not know that…I thought you were…"

"Dead?" Howlite said as she turned to Peridot. "No…No…I didn't die, I never did. You knew this and you abandoned me!"

Peridot was speechless, he had no idea what had happened on Insidiae after he left, in fact, and no Gem knew what had happened on that Colony after the war. After what felt like hours, Peridot finally broke the silence.

"What happened on Insidiae Howl?" Peridot said hesitantly, trying to be careful and not enrage the already unstable Gem.

Howlite chuckled as she began to pace the training room. "What happened to me? What happened?" Howlite then glared at Peridot and chucked the Hologem head at him, missing the Gem master, and smashing against the wall.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK HAPPENED?" Howlite shrieked as she held her left hand over the cracked portion of her face.

Peridot gasped lightly as his head a hand up to his mouth. "What did Master Diam-"

"DON'T CALL HIM THAT!" Howlite screamed at Peridot, her face flustered as she held up her hands. "HOW DARE YOU CALL HIM "MASTER" AFTER ALL HE HAS DONE!"

Peridot was frozen; he did not know what to say, nor how to react. All he could do was watch as his friend paced the room angrily. She then turned back to Peridot with wide eyes and a half smile.

"You…you are just like Topaz and Rose. You claim that you understand but you do not. You think that just because we are lesser that we are just pawns to your little game of "King of the Universe. However, you do not know what happed at Insidiae. Sure, you fought there, but were you captured like the rest of us. Like me, like Hematite, do you even remember what happed to him?"

Peridot froze as he remembered about Hematite, Peridot's second in command alongside Howlite. The very though cause Peridot to rub his hand over his eyes in guilt.

"But then what about poor Howl, the one that you assumed to be dead for years, when in reality she was alive, on Insidiae, the Gem Colony of "Monster Diamond", who had been using the Colony as a laboratory to create a perfect army for himself. I saw what he was doing with my own eyes. What he did to Jade, Tourmaline, Alexandrite, all of them, I saw them tortured and warped into monsters, while the rest were placed into those Agate drones. As for me, I received some of the Monster's "Special Treatment.""

"Howlite…" Peridot said as he placed a hand on the side of his head, "I didn't know…"

Howlite gave Peridot a smile and shook her head lightly. "You didn't know Peridot, you didn't. While you were fighting on the front lines, did you even THINK of trying to rescuing me? All the years and not *once* did you even think of finding me? You did not care Peridot; all you cared about was to prove to Topaz that you were a worthy son. No matter how many Gems you sacrificed to prove it."

"That is not true Howlite." Peridot interjects, pointing his finger at the Gem before him, "I do not know what Diamond did to you, but he has warped your mind. I did not stop looking for you; even after the war ended, I ended up captured in a containment camp because I believed you were there. Not once did I put my life before you, or Hematite, or any other Gem. I am sorry for leaving you on Insidiae, but you need to know that I had no intention of abandoning you."

Howlite glared at Peridot for what felt like hours, her expression then softened as her attention was focused on the headless Hologem lying on the floor. As she looked around the room, Peridot followed her gaze and noticed the surroundings as well. He looked in shock at the entirety of the training room that was littered with Hologems, many of which were torn apart and scattered some were barely recognizable. As he watched Howlite walk around the room, he noticed her expression was warm and satisfied, as if she had completed a lifelong task she always wanted to finish. Just then, one of the Hologems, one which was pinned to the wall and was missing it's lower legs and left arm, Sprung to life and startled the two Gems before it. As it reached for them, it transformed into the image of Master Diamond, only missing his left arm and legs.

[SEVER DAMAGE TO TARGET…DAMAGED RECEIVED: LOSS OF LEGS AND LEFT ARM…TARGET IS CRIPPLED AND DEFENSELESS…DEFENDANT IS VICTORIOUS]

Howlite looked down and scooped up a large shard of holocrystal, clutching it like a dagger as she stormed up to the wounded Gemian. As she looked into his eyes, she jabbed the shard into his chest. Diamond gasped loudly as Howlite dug the shard in deeper.

[IMPACT TO HEART…DAMAGED RECEIVED: INTERNAL BLEEDING…TARGET IS WOUNDED FATALLY…DEFENDANT IS VICTORIOUS]

Howlite pulled the shard out of Diamond's chest and examined it, looking at the shard that was coated in blue blood. The Hologems were designed to mimic their chosen avatars to the letter. This meant that attacking a hologem that took the guise of Master Diamond was supposed to be like attacking the real Diamond. Peridot watched as Howlite turned her attention back to the Gemian before her.

"Why did you do this?" Howlite asked Master Diamond

Diamond responded with a grunt before being stabbed again with the shard

"Why did you do this?" Howlite asked again as she pulled the shard out and plunged it back into Diamond's chest.

Peridot watched with horror as Howlite continued to stab Diamond repeatedly. As she continued, her stabs became more and more erratic, until she was simply stabbing random points of his body.

Why…

*stab*

…did…

*stab*

…you…

*stab*

…do…

*stab*

…this…

*stab*

…to…

*stab*

…me?

*stab*

…you…

*stab*

…I…

*stab*

…WILL…

*stab*

…KILL…

*stab*

…YOU!

*stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab**stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab**stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab**stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab**stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab**stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab**stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab**stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab**stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab**stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab**stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab**stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab* *stab**stab* *stab* *stab* *stab*

Peridot slowly walked up to his friend, still stabbing her shard into the body of the Hologem. Peridot finally grabbed Howlite's arms as she was about to plunge the shard again. He noticed that from clenching the shard too tight, her hand was bleeding from the cuts. As Howlite looked to Peridot, he saw her eyes pouring with tears.

"Howlite…" Peridot whispered in a saddened tone "What in Rose's name did he do to you?"

Howlite looked down to the floor before breaking her grip from Peridot, and plunging her shard into the head of Holo-Diamond. As the hologem deactivated, she looked back to Peridot, and stormed out of the training room.

Peridot watched as she left the room and sighed, he then looked back at the hologem and furrowed his brow.

"I promise Howlite, I promise that we will stop him. We will bring that…monster…to justice."

[*]

**Crystal Catacombs: Heart Chamber, present day**

Diamond stood before the Crystal heart, feeling the energy flowing from the large artifact before him. Diamond them opened the front of his robe, exposing his bare chest. He then placed his hands before his chest and a large black serpent emerged from his chest. The Serpent looked around the chamber and hissed before turning towards the Crystal Heart, and then to Diamond.

"_Pristis! Custodire mandata mea!_" Diamond said to the serpent, "_Concedo tibi cor Gemia enim ad vescendum, et revertimini ad antiquitatem vestram gloriam!_"

The serpent hissed before turning back to the heart, suddenly, it shot out of Diamond's chest and burrowed itself into the heart, causing the heart to turn into a much darker color. Diamond could see the serpent inside the heart, Curled up in the center like an infant in their mother's womb. As he relished in the though, he felt the presence of another behind him. Diamond then turned to see Lion standing behind him, his expression as solemn as Diamond's.

"Ah, the familiar of Rose." Diamond said to lion, "I was wondering what happened to you, perhaps my servant was not as effective with your demise as she told me. But that does not answer the question as to why you are here?"

"Because I brought him here." A voice said to Diamond.

Diamond turned to the direction of the voice to see his sister, Rose Quartz, walking into the room. She approached Diamond and brushed his mane.

"You are still as much of a nuisance dead as you were alive, little sister." Diamond hissed in anger, the very presence of Rose was enough to irritate him. "You and that creature of yours have no place here."

"You forget brother, that this is my home" Rose said as she turned to Diamond with a smile "You did turn our homeworld into your personal experiment for the Leviathan." She then tilted her body to examine the Crystal Heart. "Which I can see you used our own mother's heart as an incubator."

Diamond stood up in front of Rose, towering over her as he glared downward to her. "Why are you so persistent in allowing corruption to conquer this Universe? Are you that naive to the truth?"

Rose looked up to Diamond and smiled, "When you created my Room from your own emotions, I was able to realize that it was your idea of a perfect Universe. A Universe where the one in control would be able to get and do whatever they wanted and that everyone else obeyed his commands. However, as I used the room, I found it had a hidden purpose, it would not only give you what you wanted, but also what you needed."

Diamond scowled as she continued her remarks, her words reminded him of the very emotion he despised: love.

"Diamond, I know you want me to hate you, that when I do, you will be free of your love for me. All I can say is that I will never stop loving you. I love you because you are my brother, You and Topaz are my family, You may have killed my husband and son, butchered my successor, killed my grandchildren, and destroyed my home, but I will not hate you. Topaz may hate you, but I will not, and some day, when you ask me for forgiveness for your sins, I will be there to accept them. Nevertheless, all I ask of you is to stop this madness. This Universe may not be the one you want but it is the one we need."

Diamond looked down to his sister, as he glared into her warm smile; he felt tears form into his eyes. Rose saw as his eyes changed color from red to grey as he sunk down and hugged his little sister. As she embraced his hug, she felt as he wept upon her shoulder.

"I know that what I have done cannot be forgiven." Diamond said as he broke of the hug and turned to the Crystal Heart, "But when I fix this Universe, then such problems will become a forgotten memory.

Rose frowned in disappointment as she approached lion, whispering something to him before he disappeared into a portal. Diamond immediately turned towards Rose, his eyes returned to molten red as he stormed towards the Rose Gem.

"Where have you sent him?" Diamond hissed at Rose, "Why was he here?"

Rose simply smiled as her brother, "He was here because of his intended purpose." Rose explained, "Did you forget that our familiars have the ability to revive us should we fall?"

Diamond scowled as he bent down to look Rose in the face, "How clever of you, but I know for a fact that you cannot bring yourself to kill me."

Rose smile faded slightly as she looked down to the floor, "That is true, although you need to be stopped; I could never bring myself to kill you. It would go against everything I stand for as a Tribunal…"

"…but _he_ will not have the same problem."

Diamond furrowed his brow in confusion, before he could respond to Rose, a though sparked in his head, If Lion was meant to revive a Tribunal, and if Rose was unable to go, then …

Rose looked up to see Diamond's face turn pale, his eyes filling up with Rage, along with another emotion he despised: fear.

"No…" Diamond whispered as he stood back up, walking back a few steps away from his sister. He glared at Rose until He gritted his teeth in anger.

"VESTIBULUM!" Diamond roared as he disappeared in a blinding flash of light. Rose then turned back to the Crystal Heart and watched as the black serpent inside twitched like a fetus in the womb.

"I am sorry for the pain he caused you, and the betrayal he made you endure." Rose said as she opened a pink doorway, "But I know that everything I have taught you in our short time together will be enough to stop him." Rose then proceeded to walk into the portal, but stopped halfway and turned back to look at the ceiling of the chamber.

"Take care _filium meum_, she will need you now more than ever, and I want you to know that your father and I will pray for you."

With that, Rose entered the doorway and closed it behind her.


End file.
